Meet Cheryl Honig | Owner/Founder, The Blessed Braid

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cheryl Honig and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cheryl, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind the success of The Blessed Braid is the wonderful taste of our products. A business can have great marketing materials, a beautiful storefront, and talented employees but if customers don’t like the taste of the products, then the business won’t succeed.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets The Blessed Braid apart from other bakeries is that it is the only kosher certified retail bakery in Orange County. I am very proud to provide non-dairy kosher baked goods to the community. I started out baking and selling challah from my home. I obtained a permit from the Orange County Health Department and started drumming up business. After 1 1/2 years, I made the courageous decision to open a retail bakery. I knew that Orange County needed kosher baked goods! The most difficult part was to decide to move ahead with the bakery. I needed to think through every aspect and do some soul searching because I knew it would take a lot of effort, time, and money. I learned that you can’t rely on anyone else to spur you forward when you start questioning your decisions. Yes, friends and family can be supportive, but you must rely on yourself to remind yourself why you started this journey and you must be able to dig down deep into your heart, soul, and mind to keep going day by day. Success can be measured by many criteria. Be aware, every day, of the little successes. The success of a customer says they love your product. The success of your employees being happy to work and really enjoying their tasks. The success of repeat customers. The success of trying a new recipe and it being delicious. Don’t get bogged down in only celebrating large successes because those may take a while to achieve.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have lived in Orange County all my life, except for 10 years when I lived in Europe. Orange County has many interesting features. I would take my guests to Balboa Island. This is my favorite place to walk around and look at the houses and boats. We would ride the ferry across the water to the peninsula and play games at the arcade. I would take them to Gulf Stream – my favorite restaurant. I would take them on a hike near Laguna Beach and enjoy the land that is home to a variety of plants and animals. We would visit San Diego – a great place to walk around the water and see the huge ships. A trip to the San Diego Zoo is a must!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Many people deserve recognition for the success of The Blessed Braid! I see myself as the quarterback who certainly cannot win a game unless she has a great team to support her. I had superb guidance from experts in their field on choosing a location, designing the sales area and kitchen, building out the space, choosing equipment, creating marketing materials, assembling an employee handbook, obtaining insurance, etc. I told all these experts what I wanted to accomplish and they told me how best to do it. The key is that I listened to them, and followed their guidance.