Take a look at The Speakeasy Baking Co.’s Instagram page and you’ll find a steady stream of beautiful baked goods; mouthwatering macarons, colorful cookies, custom cupcakes, and all manner of delightful desserts.
Cheered on by a devoted online, and in-person, following, BrieAnna Arteaga-Marcel has cultivated an inclusive community in which the sweeter side of life is celebrated.
What started as a kitchen hobby has evolved into a hugely successful catering company.
High-end weddings, charity fundraisers, children’s birthday parties.
BrieAnna produces personalized pastries for any and all celebrations.
And at the center of it all is a stunning Piaggio Ape dessert truck named Delilah.
With baking this beautiful, a boring display table won’t do.
The cutest of cake stands, this vintage mobile bar combines elegant styling with chic confectionery to take dessert staging to a whole other level.
With expansion on the horizon, business is rising (pun definitely intended, sorry!) for BrieAnna, but, as she explains in our interview, The Speakeasy Baking Co.’s origin story wasn’t all so sweet.
BrieAnna's journey began with heartbreak, but thankfully for us (and our taste buds), it's one from which she has come out the other side smiling.
Read on below for inspirational insight into overcoming obstacles, turning a lifelong hobby into a dream career, and the long search for a mythical Italian mobile bar.
Hi BrieAnna! Between baking, working events and family I know you're non-stop busy, so thank you for taking the time to speak with us today!
Going back to the beginning, what’s your background and what inspired you to start The Speakeasy Baking Co.?
“I have 20 years in the service industry spanning retail management, restaurant and cafe management, and wedding and event venue management.
I started baking and selling cookies 22 years ago to my classmates in high school and would also make cookies for my family.
In 2014, I suffered an accident while on the job that resulted in my need to walk with a cane for several years.
I lost my dream job as a General Manager at a venue in Napa, CA and was battling depression.
In 2017, I started decorating sugar cookies as a creative outlet and boom!
A small underground, or should I say, a Speakeasy Bakery started!"
Wow, what an incredible story and so glad that you were able to get through that period. How did the baking business evolve into adding your incredible mobile bar?
“It took us nearly 2 years to purchase Delilah.
In 2019, I started my search for a cute dessert truck.
I really wanted to focus on a smaller vehicle that was nostalgic and timeless for photos.
Once I zoned in on the make and model, the search was on.
I contacted multiple purveyors and most of them shot me down as that style of truck was too rare and wayyyyy too hard to locate.
I had given up hopes of unearthing a vintage, Farro Basso style Piaggio Ape, but then finally I found Delilah.
In 2020 I came across a classic vespa dealer in San Francisco who had a handful of 1970's & 1980's Ape's in-stock.
What had caught my eye was the Lambretta truck that they had on hand.
As I looked through the photos, that’s when I saw Delilah in the background.
I knew that was the one I had to have, she was just what I wanted!
Petite, simple paint job and just one of a kind.
After multiple trips to the city, and plenty of negotiations, we made a deal and put our deposit down on Delilah.
I saved for another year and finally brought Delilah home in July of 2021.
On October 3rd, on the 7th year anniversary of my work injury, we debuted Delilah at a local community event dinner.
It has been a dream come true ever since.”
"On the 7th year anniversary of my work injury, we debuted Delilah at a local community event dinner...It has been a dream come true ever since.”
What an amazing journey! What have you enjoyed most about running your business? Do you have any favorite milestones so far?
"We absolutely love meeting all the guests at our events.
It is even more amazing when guests who are from Italy, or have visited Italy, notice the truck.
You can just see it in their faces and smiles that it brings them so much joy.
What we offer is truly unique and while it is being copied around the world, knowing we were the first is extra special.
Working with tech giants, Google, has been a huge accomplishment for us.
But the best part?
Seeing our couples take their photos with Delilah.
Being a part of their special day brings us so much joy and happiness.”
What has been your biggest challenge in launching and running your mobile bar business?
“The biggest challenge is the logistics of hauling.
It has taken us 2 years to finally get the loading, hauling, and staging down to a science and to be as efficient as possible.”
"But the best part? Seeing our couples take their photos with Delilah. Being a part of their special day brings us so much joy and happiness.”
What are your upcoming plans for the business and what are you most looking forward to this year?
"Our upcoming plans are to bring in a few more vehicles and expand our team over the next couple of years.
This fall we are so excited to be able to use our new enclosed trailer for hauling Delilah and to be able to move about California easier.
Using a rental U-Haul trailer was getting frustrating and now we can be much more efficient with our time and labor.
We have some availability for 2023 and it’s looking like 2024 is going to be a hot year for events which we can’t wait for!”
Awesome - thanks for giving us an insight into such an inspirational story BrieAnna! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for your business!
You can learn more about booking The Speakeasy Baking Co. for your next event via their Roll To profile, here.
Whilst we, of course, recommend including Delilah the dessert truck as part of your mobile bar booking, if you only have space for the sweet stuff, BrieAnna can create custom orders of just about anything that can be baked for your big day.
In fact, we might order a box of Roll To cookies ourselves right now...
Publishing a blog feature is cause enough for celebration, right?