What used to be one of DC’s best-kept secrets has now become a city institution. Baked & Wired is an oasis of baked and caffeinated goodness on a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it side street in Georgetown. Though best known for its cupcakes, Baked & Wired offers brownies, cakes, “hippie crack” (homemade granola), quiches, and more – just about anything to satisfy your sweet or savory tooth. The branding is always clever and delivered with just a bit of a wink, but there’s no mistaking how seriously delicious their many treats are.
We spoke with Baked & Wired owner Tony Velazquez about the business and what’s in store for the future.
Q: What made you decide to get into the coffee and bakery business?
A: The deadly sin of gluttony – still looking for a heavenly virtue.
Q: You’ve been in business now since 2001. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced starting out?
A: Staying true to our concept and the fact that our street was the most dead and boring street in Georgetown.
Q: How do you determine which coffee and bakery products you offer? Could you describe some of the process from idea to final product?
A: We have over 300 bakery items on our menu, which we rotate at the store. The selection is based mostly on whims and tantrums. We all come up with ideas for products and we immediately go into testing mode. The testing may take a week or a year. If we like it, we put it out and if we don’t, it goes to the sleeping place.
We carry coffee beans from 4 different roasters and are looking to offer a very wide range of flavor profiles. We don’t want to be a bore.
Q: Baked & Wired has become a must-visit destination for many DC tourists. What are your must-visit coffee and bakery destinations when you travel?
A: [It’s] tough because we like so many places. In Berlin, Cookies Cream and the Barn. In San Francisco, Sightglass, Tartine, and The Mill. In NY, Third Rail and Stumptown on 8th, and, in Boston, Modern Pastry (for cannoli).
Q: What plans do you have for Baked & Wired in the coming year?
A: Freshly baked bread is coming this summer. It will range from baguettes, to multi-grain, to cranberry walnut, to olive loaf.
Baked & Wired is located at 1052 Thomas Jefferson NW (off M Street between 30th and 31st St NW) in Georgetown.
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