In Uptown Athens sits one of the state’s most respected from-scratch bakeries and cafés, Fluff Bakery. Open since the last half of 2010, Fluff has become a favorite stop for students and locals with a hankering for sweetly different pastries and meals made with local ingredients. Owners Jess and Jason Kopelwitz love running a business in Athens for a few reasons, namely because Fluff is the only place in town pastry lovers can find Fluff’s brand of sugary goodness.
“There are bakeries in Athens, but there’s no place that provides the kind of bakery items we have,” Jason said.
“It’s hard to find monster cupcakes that are really good,” added Jess.
Fluff's monster cupcakes
The Kopelwitz duo sees their customer as someone who is willing to pay a little bit more for a quality that’s different from non-independent bakeries in Athens, like Kroger and Wal-mart.
“In Athens we’re lucky because, although it’s a smaller group of people who actually live here, most of them have an appreciation for people who are starting from scratch and doing things different from the usual mass-produced, everything uniform and no flavor,” Jess said.
“[In Athens County] everyone is so self-reliant. And we have people who are into doing new things and being a part of a progressive culture,” Jason added. “Then to be in the middle of Appalachia with all these progressive things going on, as well as the cultural exposure, it makes us excited to start a family here some day.”
The Kopelwitzes also value Athens’ young student population and being able to teach them life lessons about customer service and making quick, educated decisions. “There are some things you can never truly learn just from school,” Jess said.
The couple just bought a house in Athens and, according to Jess, the serene nature of their location and proximity to the bike trails truly make their home an escape from work.
“We’re kind of up in the West Hills and literally live two minutes from the bike trails,” Jess said. “It’s one of those places when I work a 12 hour day, I can go home and go for a walk. And it’s awesome. We have all these beautiful trails and water and a lot of ability to get out there and move.”
And the couple has no plans to relocate any time soon. In fact, they are the envy of their city-bound friends.
“We have a lot of friends down in Columbus who have families around busy streets and they just think ‘Oh my gosh, it would be so nice to be here and have open space.’”
Interested in relocating or starting a business in Athens? Contact us and we’ll get right back to you.
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