Breads and buns have been moved to three 8-ft.-long slanted wood shelves on the bakery's back wall. Comparing February 2009 to February 2008, Johnson says sales increased between 10 percent and 15 percent.

Changes in product line also can necessitate tweaks to a bakery's layout. Having successfully introduced a gourmet line of cheesecakes, slices and individual desserts at three of their four Jackson, Miss. McDade Market stores, Greg and Kathy McDade wanted to do the same at their fourth in-store bakery location. The problem was they didn't have enough room in the bakery department to put the 8-ft. refrigerated service case necessary to show off the upscale product line.

Display overhaul

With a new production facility, Seven Stars Bakery was able to remove a large oven and open up the space for more seating and better placement of showcases.

An overhaul of the display space was initiated, and new showcases and a different configuration solved the problem.

The store's house-baked breads also moved from a quartet of large display tables they had shared with cookies and pastries in the middle of the bakery. Now, they occupy their own end cap with oak shelving highlighted by strategically placed ceiling lighting. A separate bread display also was placed next to the deli's hot foods area to encourage meal-rounding purchases.

All four of the center tables remain, but now each features a specific category of prepackaged products, such as cookies or cakes. All told, the cost of redesigning the bakery department (which included some deli work and a new non-skid floor in the work area) was about $175,000 to $200,000, Kathy McDade says, but after its completion, impulse sales increased.

While small, cosmetic changes can do much to boost sales, sometimes a complete remodel is needed. Only a month after Jim and Lynn Williams opened their second Seven Stars Bakery retail location in Providence, R.I. in the summer of 2007, they forged ahead with plans to remodel their original 2,500-sq.-ft. store. One thing the couple was eager to do was to dismantle the 16-ft. circular brick hearth oven that had always dominated the front of the bakery.

The oven took up so much space that the café seating had to be arranged around it, which left no room for actual baking during the day. The bakery had to be cleared and cleaned immediately after closing to allow nighttime production.

Complete remodel

In 2006, the Williams had opened a separate production facility, making the oven and nighttime production unnecessary. With the oven gone, the owners were able to extend the bakery's service counters, add more displays and café seating and create a better flow for the customers, says Lynn Williams.

A change in product line also necessitated repositioning of showcases. “As a bread bakery, we didn't intend to do a ton of pastries when we first opened, so we put in a teeny (4-ft. by 2-ft. two-shelf) case for them,” she explains.

However, as the morning pastries became more popular, the size and position of the case made it difficult for customers to see the merchandise before they got to the front of the line.

“By the time they got to the counter, they felt they had to rush to make a decision, so they wouldn't hold up the rest of the line,” Williams says. “Constant bending and stretching to reach for products in the case also wore on the staff.”

A new 10-ft. marble counter with a high sneeze guard now keeps the pastries in full customer view even when the bakery is at its busiest. The current configuration also is much more ergonomically efficient for the staff, she notes. The Williams also cleared selling floor space by moving the free-standing beverage cooler to behind the counter and swapping an oversized wrought iron bread rack for an antique wooden French one more suited to the space.