Cynthia Walton and Amanda Perreault were part of the team that in 2019 launched The Break Room, a restaurant located in the Greylock Works converted mill in North Adams. Professionally
trained pastry chefs—and friends since high school—they worked together for years building a reputation for high-quality, delicious pastries. After four years at The Break Room building a
successful pastry program, they decided to start their own dessert business.
With a positive reputation, high-level baking and organizational skills, many commercial and retail fans, and support from the commercial kitchen landlords at Greylock Works where they currently
bake, Cynthia and Amanda were well positioned to launch, and opened their doors on June 1. Before opening, they faced challenges—they earned low incomes, had no
collateral, were living paycheck-to-paycheck and Cynthia is a single mom—and couldn’t fathom owning a business while working full-time.
Enter the FCCDC and North Adams Chamber: The two organizations collaborated on providing business technical assistance and lending to Cynthia and Amanda. The NAC staff helped the
pair design a functional business operations infrastructure, building a website; establishing accounts on social media platforms; creating business cards, branding, and a logo; and setting
up a Square point-of-sale system. They also trained Cynthia and Amanda on Wave bookkeeping software, which is integral to supporting their wholesale operations. After six months of working
with Business Assistance Consultant Amy Shapiro, they completed a business plan and the FCCDC provided a grant and loan for Nostalgia Scratch Pastry, LLC. Cynthia and Amanda are
now serving up exquisite baked goods to retailers up and down Berkshire County and recently were profiled by the Berkshire Eagle. “We’ve been side by side through every up and down,”
Amanda told the Eagle, “supporting one another, pressing each other to be better at everything we do.” We predict that collaboration will bring nothing but sweet success!
