Black Walnut Bakery Cafe

What Black Walnut Bakery Cafe does

Black Walnut Bakery Cafe is an independent, family-owned bakery and roastery founded in 2011 in London, Ontario, operating three retail locations: the original Wortley Village cafe at 134 Wortley Rd, the Richmond Row flagship at 724 Richmond St, and a satellite location at Western Research Parks (999 Collip Circle) operated in collaboration with Western University. The business runs an entirely from-scratch production model — its bakers produce artisan pastries, breads, croissants, pies, cakes, quiches, sandwiches, soups, and salads on-site daily, while its coffee program is built around a Diedrich IR-12 small-batch roaster used to produce six proprietary fair-trade organic blends (Commissioners Reserve, Village, Smooth, Decaf Swiss Water, Black Walnut, Old South Espresso) sourced from Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Sumatra, and Brazil.

The company's revenue is generated through four primary streams: walk-in retail bakery and cafe sales at all three locations; event catering for groups of 5 to 500 (boxed lunches, sandwich and dessert platters, custom occasion cakes, on-site coffee service); wholesale-style whole-bean coffee sales of its signature blends; and digital e-gift cards sold through the Shift4 payment platform on its website. Pricing is transaction-based with no public menu disclosure; catering has a $100 minimum for free weekday delivery within London and a $500 minimum for weekend deliveries, plus a 10% bulk discount on orders of 12+ muffins or scones. Customer segments are predominantly local London, Ontario consumers (neighborhood foot traffic, families, patio diners) and event-based catering customers, with a tertiary Western University community at the Research Parks location. Marketing is lean: organic Instagram (@blackwalnut_bakerycafe), SEO-driven website traffic, community word-of-mouth, and the physical patios (40 seats at Richmond Row, 35 at Wortley Village) as branded gathering spaces. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no app or digital product platform beyond gift cards.

Name

Black Walnut Bakery Cafe

Legal name

Black Walnut Bakery Cafe

Website

https://blackwalnutbakerycafe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Black Walnut Bakery Cafe is a family-owned London, Ontario bakery and roastery operating three retail locations, serving local consumers, event caterers, and the Western University community with from-scratch baked goods, sandwiches, and six in-house roasted fair-trade organic coffee blends.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Bakery Cafe

akta.pro primary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice) (THAFAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG)

Keywords

• Artisan baked goods
• Specialty coffee roasting
• Bakery cafe catering
• Handcrafted pastries breads
• Fair trade coffee blends

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Bakery and Cafe Sales: On-site sales of freshly baked goods (pastries, breads, pies, cakes, scones, muffins, croissants, sandwiches) and beverages (coffee, specialty drinks, cold brew, tea, smoothies). Core revenue driver across three London, Ontario locations.
2. Catering Services: Event catering including boxed lunches, sandwich platters, dessert platters, salads, and baked goods for 5 to 500 people. Minimum order $100 for free delivery within London. Weekend deliveries require $500 minimum. Made-to-order special occasion cakes and cupcakes.
3. Gift Cards: E-gift cards sold through website, shift4 payment platform. Provides prepaid revenue and customer retention.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Black Walnut Bakery Cafe operates three physical bakery cafe locations in London, Ontario, selling entirely from-scratch, in-house handcrafted baked goods (scones, muffins, croissants, breads, pies, cakes), hot and cold beverages, breakfast and lunch items, and desserts. The company also roasts its own fair-trade organic coffee in six signature blends using a Diedrich IR-12 roaster, and offers event catering for groups of 5-500 plus reloadable e-gift cards.

Product overview

Black Walnut Bakery Cafe is an award-winning bakery and roastery with three locations in London, Ontario (Richmond Row, Wortley Village, and Western Research Parks), established in 2011. The company operates as a single unified cafe concept offering an entirely from-scratch, in-house handcrafted menu. Core offerings include: (1) Bakery Cafe Menu featuring handmade baked goods (scones, muffins, croissants, cruffins, cookies, pies, cakes), hot/cold coffee drinks, breakfast/lunch items (sandwiches, soups, salads, quiches), and desserts; (2) Black Walnut Roastery Coffee - six proprietary blends of fair-trade organic beans roasted in-house using an IR-12 Diedrich Coffee Roaster; (3) Catering Services for events of 5-500 people including platters, boxed lunches, and custom occasion cakes; and (4) E-Gift Cards for retail gifting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Black Walnut Roasting Team: In-house coffee roasting team that sources beans from around the world and roasts them locally in small batches at the Richmond location using the IR-12 Diedrich Coffee Roaster.

Products and services

• Bakery Cafe Menu (Baked Goods, Breakfast/Lunch, Desserts, Hot & Cold Drinks) Handmade from-scratch bakery and cafe menu featuring artisan baked goods, breakfast and lunch items, desserts, and specialty coffee and tea beverages. Offered to walk-in consumers at all three London, Ontario locations.
• Black Walnut Roastery Coffee In-house roasted fair-trade organic coffee sold by the cup and as whole beans. Six proprietary blends sourced from Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Sumatra, and Brazil, roasted in small batches on a Diedrich IR-12 roaster.
• Catering Services Event catering for groups of 5-500 people, including boxed lunches, sandwich platters, dessert platters, salads, freshly baked goods, and made-to-order special occasion cakes and cupcakes. Free delivery within London for weekday orders of $100+; weekend deliveries require a $500 minimum.
• E-Gift Card Digital and reloadable gift cards purchased online through the Shift4 payment platform, redeemable at all three Black Walnut Bakery Cafe locations in London, Ontario.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Western Research ParksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Western Research Parks to establish a satellite cafe location at 999 Collip Circle. This partnership provides Black Walnut with a presence in the research park area, serving students, faculty, and research park employees with their baked goods and in-house roasted coffee. The location is open to the public, extending the brand's reach to a new customer base.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Dufflet Pastries: Toronto-based artisan bakery and cafe operator known for handcrafted desserts and pastries with wholesale and retail distribution. Comparable to Black Walnut on the artisan-from-scratch bakery positioning and cafe-retail model.
• Bridgehead Coffee: Ottawa-based specialty coffee roaster and fair-trade certified cafe chain. Comparable to Black Walnut on fair-trade organic sourcing, in-house roasting, and cafe-retail model, though Bridgehead operates in Ottawa rather than Southwestern Ontario.
• Second Cup: Canadian specialty coffee chain with cafe locations across Ontario serving espresso beverages and baked goods. Most directly comparable to Black Walnut on the cafe-coffee-and-pastry model, though Second Cup operates corporate/franchise locations at greater scale.
• Balzac's Coffee Roasters: Ontario specialty coffee roaster with multiple cafe locations roasting small-batch beans and pairing with artisan food. Direct peer to Black Walnut on the in-house roasting, handcrafted beverage, and baked goods integration model across Ontario markets.
• Pilot Coffee Roasters: Toronto-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator that roasts beans in-house and serves handcrafted beverages and baked goods. Highly comparable to Black Walnut on the roastery-plus-cafe model and from-scratch ethos, though Pilot operates at larger urban scale in Toronto.

Broad incumbents

• Tim Hortons: Canada's largest quick-service coffee and baked goods chain with thousands of locations nationwide. Black Walnut competes against Tim Hortons for daily coffee and breakfast occasions in London, Ontario but differentiates through from-scratch, handcrafted positioning rather than speed and scale.
• Starbucks: Global coffee chain with multiple London, Ontario locations serving premium specialty coffee and light bakery items. Black Walnut's in-house roasting and from-scratch menu competes for the same premium-seeker customer that Starbucks Reserve and standard stores target.

Others

• JJ Beaulieu: Southwestern Ontario coffee roaster supplying wholesale and retail beans. Comparable to Black Walnut's Black Walnut Roasting Team as a regional roastery operation though primarily wholesale rather than cafe-retail.

Regional players

• The Nook Cafe: Local London, Ontario cafe serving specialty coffee and baked goods in a neighborhood setting. Direct geographic competitor for the Wortley Village/Richmond Row customer base with overlapping cafe offerings.
• Williams Coffee Pub: Southwestern Ontario coffee and cafe chain headquartered in the London-region area. Direct regional competitor for the same London-area consumer as Black Walnut with a similar full-menu cafe offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/blackwalnut_bakerycafe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/black-walnut-bakery-cafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Black Walnut Bakery Cafe