After immigrating from Turkey five years ago, the Bayizitlioglus were intent on escaping their corporate jobs and embarking on a journey to find themselves through their own small business. With owner Sam’s long-running fondness for all things cooking and her husband’s shared disposition toward caffeine, the purpose of their business soon unclouded: a bakery. 

Cure Bakery & Coffee opened its doors in March of 2022, after months of planning out drawings, working with the City of Austin, and stumbling upon a multitude of supply-chain issues. On top of these hurdles, the process proved to be a major challenge for the Bayizitlioglus due to the ongoing pandemic. 

“Whenever you plan to open a business, I highly recommend giving yourselves enough time to get prepared,” Bayizitlioglu said. “It was extremely tough during that time with everything going on.” 

From Turkish coffee to their chocolate drinks, the Bayizitloglus place an unstaggering emphasis on authenticity. The owners aimed to offer a variegated option for coffee-lovers in Austin by providing an element of their roots: Turkish coffee, a renowned drink in Turkey. While also offering Middle Eastern desserts like baklava, another distinctive trait of the bakery is that everything is homemade, down to the chocolate. 

“I think that’s what makes us a little different than [the other coffee shops],” Sam said. “It’s important for us to give a special touch and offer different things.” 

The secret to their rapid success? Communication. The owners make an unstaggering effort to get to know each and every one of their customers, whether it be learning more about their families or getting a daily catch-up. Like the comforting coffee shops on sit-coms, the Bayizitlioglus foster a connected community that involves more than a brief exchange of words.  

“The best part is we have our relationship with the new stores, but then they started [forming] relationships with each other,” Sam said. “So it’s really magical to me.”  

After a year of Cure Bakery & Coffee hitting the ground, the owners reflected on their greatest triumph: the customer loyalty and support. Sam owed it to the location of the bakery, surrounded by both neighborhoods and main roads. 

“I wouldn’t expect this first year to be filled with so much love, but that’s all thanks to the customers — our neighbors,” Sam said. 

With the bakery being a family-owned business, the only employees who currently work at the store are the couple and their twins. While this has been an integral part of what makes Cure Bakery & Coffee so remarkable, it has also contributed to many of their struggles during rush hours and the weekends. 

“It’s a family business and right now we don’t have any [employees],” Sam said. “Mostly, we were prepared for many cases, but there are some times, especially on the weekends, we get really busy.” 

For the new year, the couple has plans in store for Cure Bakery & Coffee. Aside from sprucing up the menu to meet the customers’ requests and potentially considering opening up a second branch, their main focus is to introduce entertainment and further accentuate the lively atmosphere.

“We will planning to have some live music probably Friday evenings maybe in the back area,” Sam said.  

The Bayizitlioglus have encapsulated exemplary small-business owners with their nurture for the bakery, love for their customers, and passion for baking. The recipe for success for this couple was doing what they love and knowing the ins and outs of the industry they went into.

“We only close one day a week, which is Monday, but on Monday evening, I start missing being here,” Sam said. “It’s like home to me.” 

Cure Bakery & Coffee is located at 13642 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78750.