Paul Post
By Paul Post
Riley Silbert learned the economics of his parents’ baked goods business at a young age.
He could keep the profits from cookies they made by selling them at a farmers market, but first he had to purchase them.
Nothing was handed to him.
The work ethic they instilled in him, a heavy dose of ambition and a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit laid the groundwork for a thriving enterprise whose online sales are now coast to coast.
The 32-year-old Silbert took over Bucks County Biscotti from his mom and dad and relocated it from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, to 37 Casey Road in Queensbury. They had just moved to Warren County and weren’t really expecting him to follow in their footsteps.
“I threw them a curveball,” Silbert said, smiling. “I was in New York City, doing sales and marketing for some start-ups, and decided I was working too hard for other people.”
He took one year to build up the business, another to work out all the financing and a third to construct the firm’s modern new home at the Warren-Washington Industrial Development Agency’s Airport Industrial Park.
But once again, nothing came easy.
Silbert officially took over on March 10, 2020. At the time, the firm’s business was strictly wholesale, providing biscotti to coffee shops and cafes throughout the region.
After starting out with pastries, his mom had begun specializing in biscotti, which has a longer shelf life, meaning she didn’t have to get up extra early each day while caring for her then-infant son, Riley.
“That’s what makes biscotti unique,” Silbert said. “It’s a twice-baked cookie. Dough is mixed and deposited into loaves, which are baked. All of them are then cut and hand flipped, worked by hand back onto trays for a second bake. That’s what gives them their crunchy, harder texture. They’re traditionally enjoyed with a sweet wine, but today a lot of people like them with coffee or espresso.”
Silbert had just grabbed the reins when COVID hit. Every place Bucks County Biscotti sold to was forced to close its doors.
“We had to really pivot the business, so we built the website, developed new packaging and worked hard at marketing online retail sales to people,” he said.
Customers familiar with their tasty biscotti stayed loyal, creating a new line of business.
“When everything came back, the business had doubled in size,” Silbert said. “It’s about 50-50 now between wholesale and retail. We sell wholesale to coffee shops and cafes throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.”
“But a lot of the growth is in retail,” he said. “We’ll get messages from folks who say they tried it in a coffee shop, really liked it and now they’re ordering online. We have customers all over the country ordering multiple times now.”
Locally, Bucks County Biscotti is available at The Silo in Queensbury, Lake George Olive Oil Company, Lake Shore Provisions in Bolton Landing, and Coffee Planet in Ballston Spa.
But the easiest way to make a purchase is at the firm’s unique self-serve “honor stand” at 37 Casey Road. Customers can choose from several flavors (cranberry walnut, golden raisin olive oil, sea-salted chocolate toffee, chocolate dipped classic, classic anise almond, lemon poppy) and take a $5 bag home by putting money in a drop box.
“We always have a variety of flavors available and people can put money in the slot, day or night,” Silbert said.
The concept began in Pennsylvania, similar to farmers selling fresh produce and eggs at roadside stands. Silbert still maintains an honor stand in Bucks County, so longtime customers who helped start and keep the business afloat can keep enjoying the popular treats.
“They’d probably come after me with pitchforks if I didn’t,” he joked.
The fast-growing firm has five full-time production employees, and Silbert’s mom helps out whenever she can, not out of necessity, but because she simply loves the business.
Neighboring Rozell Industries helped with construction of the company’s new home, which opened in early 2023. Some equipment was moved up from Pennsylvania, but Silbert also made a significant investment with a second oven and a large new refrigeration unit for extra storage.
An 8,000-kilowatt solar system helps offset the bakery’s energy usage.
“It took two years to get everything settled in,” he said. “We’re still working on kinks and tweaks. There’s always something.”
Raw materials are obtained from a variety of sources. Flour comes from King Arthur Baking Company in Norwich, Vermont. A New York City distributor supplies anise and poppy seeds.
Business picks up in summer when vacationers descend on the Lake George region and the nearby airport creates extra traffic during the Adirondack Balloon Festival in September.
“We keep coming up with new flavors all the time and have limited editions during the year,” Silbert said. “If we continue on the path we’re on we’d max out production capacity in the next two years. At that point, we would have a lot of options – keep expanding, build an adjacent facility or buy something? In the meantime we’re just trying to bring more folks in. We’re about a month away from working on fall production and gearing up for the busiest time of year, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.”