Local Business Highlight: On the Horizon Bakery

Hailee Carter, owner of On the Horizon

If you've ever passed by Coastal Interior Designs on a Friday morning, you'll have noticed a food truck in their parking lot with a line of hungry customers. This food truck, On the Horizon, is a mobile bakery run by Hailee Carter, a veteran native of Otis, ME.

"I'm one of those people that love to learn new things, and I feel like when you stop learning, you get stalled out, you lose that ambition, and I don't ever want to lose that. So, keeping that in mind, I'm just always looking for the next thing. . . I'm always looking for that happiness on the horizon." 

Hailee's grandmother taught her how to bake at a young age. She often brought cookies to class in middle school or baked and decorated cakes for classmates in high school. However, starting her bakery only occurred years after graduation. She tried college, first hospitality management, and then childhood education. Then, she became a licensed cosmetologist. Finally, she enrolled in the army and loved it—until she got hurt two and a half years later and had to come home.

Hailee's resilience shone through as she started baking again to help her heal emotionally and accept the new direction her life had taken. She bought a house in downtown Ellsworth and, after a while, asked herself, “Why don't I just put a little shed in the front yard, and I'll sell bread on Saturday mornings?”

Construction began in February 2020 of the bakery of her dreams, and she was able to launch her baking business in September that year. She loved the shop, but she hit several snafus, such as the uncertainty of the market due to COVID. 

"I needed to decide whether I was going to pump more equity into the property or if I was going to, you know, sell and take that equity elsewhere. And so that's what I ended up doing."

Hailee wasn't confident that the income she had generated from selling the house and bakery would be enough to rent on Main Street, and she also wanted to invest in her own form of equity.

The mobile bakery concept soon followed. “I figured, if I don't know where I'm going to put down roots and I'm living on wheels, why don't I put my bakery on wheels too? And that way, I can bring my bakery wherever I go.” 

Hailee's creativity and adaptability are successful traits for any entrepreneur, and they have paid off. She reopened On the Horizon as a mobile bakery in the summer of 2023. One of her biggest challenges was figuring out where to start and how to get launched. Working at Flexit Café in Ellsworth helped her understand the difference between commercial kitchen and home food processing licensing. She now operates the mobile bakery under both licenses.

She also utilizes the resources around her, such as the Vocational Rehabilitation Center for the Military through the Veteran's Association. 

The other major challenge she ran into being mobile is that she's not in a temperature-controlled kitchen. In the summer, she operates outside, even during heat waves. When winter creeps up, you'll find Hailee punching numbers on the register with her mittens. The dough will also respond differently to the temperature change—sometimes, her croissants don't rise, or her cinnamon rolls go flat.

With that in mind, Hailee adapted to use her mobile unit for food items that don't necessarily need time to rise such as cake slices, cookies, dessert bars, and more. She uses her home food processing license to produce more temperamental products. 

Running this mobile bakery takes work, more than just working as a baker. If you want to start a business, Hailee says, "You need to understand that 80% of it is business, and 20% of it is what type of business it is. . . as a one-woman show, I'm not just the baker, but I'm also the marketing director, I'm the bookkeeper, I wear all these different hats. You've got to be flexible and willing to learn those aspects."

When asked what advice she would give those starting their own business, Hailee said, "Definitely use the resources around you. Don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong or don't know something. There's always something new to learn. . . It doesn't matter what you do in life. Never be afraid to learn new things and ask questions. And if you've got people that aren't supportive or aren't helping you grow, in return to you helping them grow, you're surrounded by the wrong people."

During the rest of this season, you can find Hailee's and her bakery at the Home Depot parking lot Tuesday – Thursday and Saturday - Sunday from 7 am – 12:30 pm. On Friday, she is downtown on Water Street next to the Ellsworth Mural. In the afternoon, she is baking wholesale and special orders. 

To learn more about Hailee’s journey and On the Horizon Bakery, check out the Maine Biz article published in early August: 'Bakery on wheels' finds a niche in Ellsworth | Mainebiz.biz. You can also find her online at https://www.onthehorizon207.com. Follow her on social media to keep up with real-time updates!