For nine hours each day, Molly Rizzuto bakes in her kitchen. With no one else to rely on, she must set her own daily schedule and make sure she meets her professional quotas.
Whether it’s pies, tarts, scones or intricate wedding cakes, each day yields something completely different.
Rizzuto is the owner and operator of Goose House Bakery, a local commercial wholesale and retail home bakery that specializes in “bringing seriously scrumptious works of art to the Palouse,” as stated on the business’s website.
“Just the sense of ownership in what I do, I feel like I put a lot more,” Rizzuto. “Everything I do is a representation of me and Goose House.”
Rizzuto first worked in a bakery over 20 years ago while she attended college.
After spending several years in Oregon as head of a Portland bakery’s wedding department, she moved to Moscow in 2015.
Although Portland was a nice place to live, she said it was too hectic. Rizzuto wanted to raise her 10-year-old son in a smaller place near family.
“I’ve just been doing this — kind of grandfathered into the industry — for a couple of decades now,” she said.
The name Goose House came soon after her move.
Courtesy | Goose House Bakery
Baked goods available from Goose House Bakery.
Rizzuto said her sister owns a house that was lovingly referred to by neighborhood children as “The Goose House,” a result of the previous owner keeping a goose in the upstairs window.
When brainstorming bakery ideas, this was on the top of the list. The name stuck.
Goose House was first established at Moscow’s Winter Market, and continues to participate each year. After the market’s first season, Rizzuto said she was approached by each of her current wholesale clients interested in selling her items in their shops.
“It was really just a matter of figuring out which of my items would work best for their customers … it was all pretty seamless, really,” she said.
Currently, Goose House Bakery goods can be purchased at One World Cafe, Kitchen Counter, Plaid and Pearls and during MET opera showings at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre.
With all the time and attention currently needed, no other locations are expected to be added to the mix, she said.
Rizzuto’s main business is retail — baking orders daily for local customers ordering through her website.
Part of being a one-person business means sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day, she said.
“Of course I can’t do everything all the time,” Rizzuto said. “So I do sometimes have to turn people away, if I don’t have time to fill an order they are requesting.”
One of Rizzuto’s favorite customer experiences is receiving handwritten “thank you” notes. She said getting notes for providing wedding or birthday cakes is always a joy.
“Somebody taking the time to do that, it has been really special and so much more frequent than I would have ever imagined,” she said.
Baking can be a fast, sometimes stressful process, but creating certain goods can instead help relax and relieve stress. For Rizzuto, scones are that particular good.
She said the repetitive movements of mixing and folding the dough offer a sort of meditative quality and a chance to slow down and just think, which can often be difficult.
Looking ahead, Rizzuto said she is excited to continue working with the Moscow community and seeing where her business takes her.
“Oh my gosh, it’s just been fantastic,” she said. “The enthusiasm and support of this community has really taken me by surprise, it’s so amazing. People are really excited about what I do, and really gracious in showing their support. It’s been wonderful.”
Max Rothenberg can be reached at [email protected]