10/08/2026
❤️ A Little Vulnerability From Us at White Sails Bakery & Deli…
This is one of those posts that I’ve written, deleted, and rewritten because sometimes it’s really hard to be vulnerable, especially when it comes to something you’ve poured your entire heart, soul, time, energy, and finances into.
But I’ve always believed in being transparent with our customers, even when the conversations are uncomfortable.
The truth is, the last year has been incredibly difficult for White Sails. Last year, the ongoing construction took a tremendous toll on our business, and by the time winter arrived, we were already struggling to recover. Winter is naturally a slower season for us, but this past one was particularly devastating. We kept telling ourselves that if we could just make it through until summer, things would turn around.
Unfortunately, summer wasn’t what we had hoped for either.
Between the continued construction, tree cutting, power interruptions, disruptions to traffic, and everything else happening around us, we experienced a summer that was significantly slower than what we’ve been accustomed to. And while we understand that many of these things are completely outside of anyone’s control, the financial impact they have had on our little business has been enormous.
Charbel and I have continued to push forward, working countless hours, sacrificing time with our children, missing family moments, and doing everything we possibly can to keep White Sails moving in the right direction. We’ve continued introducing new products, expanding our selection, listening to customer requests, and trying our absolute hardest to keep our prices affordable despite the rising cost of practically everything.
One thing we’ve been particularly proud of is our fresh produce selection. We’ve worked incredibly hard to build relationships with suppliers, purchase quality products, and offer our community fresh fruits and vegetables at prices that are competitive and, in many cases, lower than what you’ll find elsewhere.
But here’s the difficult reality that people don’t always see behind the scenes.
In order to offer those prices, we need buying power. And buying power means purchasing in bulk.
Unfortunately, produce is extremely perishable. Unlike other products that can sit on a shelf for weeks or months, fresh fruits and vegetables have a very limited window before they become a loss. When we’re purchasing large quantities to keep our prices affordable but aren’t seeing the sales needed to move that inventory, the financial losses add up incredibly quickly.
And as much as it breaks our hearts to say this, we’ve reached a point where we need to make some really difficult decisions.
Unless we begin seeing a meaningful increase in our produce sales, along with some of the other specialty products we’ve worked so hard to introduce, we’re unfortunately going to have to start discontinuing certain items and potentially scaling back our produce selection significantly.
And I want to explain something else that I think is important.
We listen to our customers. We genuinely do. When someone asks if we can bring in a particular product, offer something different, or make something special, we take those requests seriously. We research it, source it, purchase the ingredients or inventory, spend the time preparing it, advertise it, and hope that it’s something our community will enjoy.
But sometimes, after all of that effort, those products barely sell.
And that’s hard. Not because we expect everyone to purchase everything we offer, but because every new product represents an investment, a financial risk, and hours of work that most people never see.
We aren’t a large grocery chain with endless financial resources. We’re a small, family-owned business with real bills, real employees who depend on us, a family to support, and a whole lot of hope that the next week or month will be better than the last.
There have been moments over this past year when we’ve genuinely questioned how much longer we can keep doing this. That’s not something that’s easy to admit publicly. We’ve smiled behind the counter, continued showing up, kept our shelves stocked, and done our best to make sure our customers never felt the weight of what was happening behind the scenes.
But the reality is that passion doesn’t pay the bills. Hard work alone doesn’t guarantee success. And loving what you do doesn’t make the financial stress any easier.
Please don’t misunderstand this post. This isn’t meant to guilt anyone into shopping with us, and we know that families everywhere are struggling with the cost of living. We understand that people have budgets, routines, and places they prefer to shop. We respect that completely.
But we also want our community to understand that when we ask what you’d like to see us carry, we’re not just asking for ideas. We’re trying to understand what people will actually support so that we can make responsible decisions that allow us to continue offering these products.
Every purchase matters. Whether it’s a bag of potatoes, some fresh fruit, a loaf of bread, a sandwich, or something from our bakery, it all makes a difference.
We are so incredibly grateful for the customers who have continued showing up for us, especially throughout this difficult year. Please know that your support has meant more than you’ll ever understand.
We don’t want to stop offering fresh produce. We don’t want to reduce our selection. We don’t want to take away products that some of you have come to love. But we also can’t continue absorbing losses that put the rest of our business at risk.
We’re not giving up on White Sails. Far from it. But we do have to start making decisions based on what is sustainable, rather than what we wish we could offer.
Charbel and I have put so much of ourselves into this business. We’ve built relationships with customers who feel like family, watched your children grow, celebrated your milestones, and worked tirelessly to make White Sails more than just another place to buy food.
And we want nothing more than to keep doing that for years to come.
So this is us being vulnerable. This is us admitting that things have been hard, that we’re worried, and that we can’t continue doing everything exactly as we have been.
If you love having access to affordable fresh produce and the other products we bring into our little shop, we truly hope you’ll continue supporting them when you can.
Because at the end of the day, we can bring the products in, we can work the long hours, and we can put our hearts into every single thing we do. But we can’t make it work without the sales to support it.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who continues to believe in us, support us, recommend us, and choose our little family business. ❤️ picture of our reasons for pushing through everyday 🫶🏼 you never know what’s going on behind closed doors folks! And we know we aren’t the only ones struggling so let’s support everyone.
With love and gratitude,
White Sails Bakery & Deli ❤️
