Frances and Aaron Cooper have served home-baked food from their “destination cafe” in Tauranga’s Historic Village for eight-and-a-half years.

But now they have made the “heartbreaking” decision to close The Whipped Baker and make seven staff redundant. They share their story with Megan Wilson.

Frances and Aaron Cooper have “pretty much cried ourselves to sleep” every night this week.

“It was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to do in our lives. But we didn’t have a choice,” Frances said of closing their Historic Village cafe in Tauranga.

“You don’t get many chances in life to create what we’ve created and then to just walk away, it’s pretty damn hard,” Aaron said.

The Whipped Baker announced its closure on social media on December 5. Its final day of operation is December 23.

Frances said they were meant to be moving into the new cafe in the Historic Village and “now we’re not”.

There were “big reasons” behind their decision but the couple would not go into details.

“It’s not something we can talk about. People just need to know that we didn’t do it lightly,” she said.

The owners of the Whipped Baker Aaron and Frances Cooper pictured in 2020. Photo / George Novak

They confirmed it was not for financial reasons - their cafe was “the busiest cafe in Tauranga”.

“We’ve done the best we can without putting ourselves and our business into financial difficulty ... “

“We’ve still got a business to run and we’ve still got to live in Tauranga.”

Asked if the closure had anything to do with not having the monopoly on selling food and coffee in the village, Frances said this was untrue and that the couple had “always been happy” for other vendors to be there.

Downsizing ‘the best thing to do’

Frances said staff were “devastated” when they learned of the closure.

Handing them redundancy letters was “the last thing” she wanted to do, and it was “heartbreaking”.

“We’ve bawled, we’ve cried every night, we haven’t slept ...

Aaron encouraged cafes to employ their staff “if you want your business to take off”.

The Whipped Baker owners Aaron and Frances Cooper pictured in 2020. Photo / George Novak

Aaron said hospitality in New Zealand had taken “a hell of a hit over the last five years”.

“We’re just damn lucky that we haven’t had all our eggs in the one basket ... because otherwise, we’d be like everybody else in Tauranga that’s lost their small business.

“We’re going to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and carry on.”

The couple - in their 50s - have had “a lot of stress over the years”.

Frances said downsizing was “the best thing to do” and would allow them to spend more time with their family.

They have five children aged 23, 22, 17, 15, and 12.

Tauranga City Council responds

Tauranga CIty Council community services general manager Barbara Dempsey confirmed the owners of the Whipped Baker had “given notice that they will not be renewing their lease” and their last day of operation would be on December 23.

“The community has been enjoying the Whipped Baker’s delicious fare for more than eight years and the Historic Village staff and patrons will be sad to see them leave.

“We hope to be able to provide a new coffee and snack offering in the New Year and staff will be working with potential tenants of the new and larger cafe premises, with a view to ensuring that catering services are available for visitors and those utilising the Village facilities.”

Dempsey said the council had been working on the renovation of the original cafe and kitchen “for some time” and the project was on track to be completed in early March.

The works included a new 60-seat cafe and commercial kitchen designed to supply coffee and food to the many visitors to the Historic Village and supply catering to Village venues, including the renovated Balcony Room in the same complex, Dempsey said.

How the Whipped Baker started

Frances said she had been decorating cakes since she was 17.

When she was pregnant with their third child, she was baking cakes in their home bakery and working in hospitality.

They started selling bread at the markets when the recession hit.

One night in 2006, they were baking and came up with the name the Whipped Baker “because it’s exactly how we felt - absolutely whipped. We were knackered”.

Frances Cooper pictured in 2021. Photo / George Novak

They became more popular and made new products - “our doughnuts and custard slices took off”.

At one point, they were going to four markets per weekend across the Bay of Plenty.

Frances said the Historic Village manager asked them to set up a “destination cafe” in the village.

They opened in July 2016 and employed one barista, which grew to 20 staff and two businesses.

What’s next?

Aaron said the pair had been “working our asses off” in the Historic Village, including working 90-hour weeks.

“Being down in the village wasn’t just about us building a business, it was us catering for all the people that needed a lift-me-up,” Frances said.

“We wanted that bright little cosy cafe so after people [have been] up in the hospital they can come down and relax ... and have some really nice home-baked food.”

The Whipped Baker Express in Maungatapu. Photo / Megan Wilson

One highlight for Frances was building “community camaraderie”, such as having the first doughnut-eating competition in the village after Covid and celebrating the essential services.

“Hearing people laugh ... that was the most incredible thing after we’d all been so separated for so long.

“We just want to thank Tauranga for being as supportive of us - it’s been incredible.”

The Whipped Baker Express in Maungatapu. Photo / Megan Wilson

The couple will rename their Maungatapu bakery to the Whipped Baker and add more tables, remove the self-serve cabinets and bring in bigger cabinets.

“It’s been an incredible adventure ... but we hope we can continue it up here [Maungatapu],” Frances said.

-Bay of Plenty Times