Janna’s Bakery which opened in Port Street earlier this year is a dream come true for its talented owner Janna Koc.
Her popular coffee shop – which is open for takeaway and to sit-in – sells a wide range of freshly-baked cakes, pastries and savoury food and has been a huge hit with customers since opening in April.
Janna has always been an accomplished home baker who loves preparing food for family and friends. But what began as a hobby turned into a successful business when she started blogging – sharing recipes and posting photos of her delicious bakes – on social media two years ago. She was surprised and delighted when a follower asked if she could buy six of her cinnamon rolls.
Janna says: “It was a bit unexpected to be honest but I said yes and I made them for her and wrapped them up in foil and then I was over the moon to get my first customer review!
She said they were amazing and that week I sold 120 cinnamon rolls and that was the start of people asking for my cakes and pastries – the beginning of my adventure.”
Janna, who is originally from Armenia, moved to Stirling six years ago with her Turkish husband Sami who runs the Cut ‘N’ Shave Turkish Barbers shop on Port Street – next door to her coffee shop.
The couple didn’t originally plan to open a coffee shop – although Janna says it was always something she dreamed of doing – but her online business success plus a lucky break ended up taking her in that direction.
She says: “I was enjoying doing my Facebook orders from home and making cakes for birthday parties and other occasions – which I still do – and even though having a coffee shop one day was a dream of mine I wasn’t really planning for it.”
Then the paper shop, Port Street News, next door to Sami’s barber shop moved and the couple applied to move the barbers there and use the larger space for a coffee shop.
Janna says: “The barber shop was pretty big so we decided to move that and then turn the barber shop into a coffee shop which we got permission to do. Having the shop is a dream come true for me and I love the cinnamon smells and I love my customers.
I’m so grateful for them and the support they’ve given me – it means a lot – and I feel that I’m so wealthy to have customers who have supported me as a local business and given me the strength to open the shop.”
Janna, who now employs a pastry chef, kitchen assistant and waitress to help her and Sami out in the café, hopes to one day expand her premises so she has more space for seating customers.
She adds: “Since we opened everything has gone well and I’m so happy with all the lovely reviews we’ve had.
“High standards of customer service and high-quality food are very important to me and I’m just delighted that people really seem to love this place.”
Janna’s Bakery serves a wide range of cakes and pastries including cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, tarts, cheesecake, muffins and brownies. There are also savoury treats on the menu such as soup, Turkish bagels, sandwiches, sausage rolls, paninis and salads plus hot and cold drinks.
Janna also runs `Janna’s Breakfast Club’ – from 7am till 10.30am Monday to Friday – featuring a Scottish breakfast with morning rolls filled with sausage, bacon, eggs and more plus a Mediterranean breakfast which includes Turkish sausage, eggs, feta cheese, Greek Olives and vegetables.
Janna’s Bakery is open Monday to Saturday from 7am till 4pm (closed Sundays) and you can contact Janna via jannakoc2704@gmail.com or by calling 07714 944694.
The coffee shop, based at 67 Port Street, also has a Facebook page – www.facebook.com/jannasbaking/ and is on Instagram – www.instagram.com/jannasbaking/
