Meet Emily, Sarah, Ivan & Katie Prochaska | Bakers & entrepreneurs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily, Sarah, Ivan & Katie Prochaska and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, Sarah, Ivan & Katie, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
We are four siblings from Rockwall county with Czech roots that run deep. Growing up the four of us were extremely close, and we have maintained that closeness to this day. We grew up in a family that has always been very hardworking. From our great grandfather and grandmother who raised their family in Deep South Texas, to our parents who raised us right here outside of Dallas, we have learned the importance of working hard, being honest, treating others with respect, and producing something that we are proud of. Kolaches (sweet dough filled with fruit and cream fillings) and klobasniks (savory dough filled with sausage) have been a treat for us since we were little and would drive through West to visit family. Although our family had its own recipe, no one had taken the time to make kolaches since our great grandma. Five years ago we saw a need for these treats in our area and believed that we could be the people to bring the beloved Czech tradition to our community. We started baking them from home and attending vendor fairs but eventually we decided to take a risk and rent a commercial space to begin selling to the public at a storefront location. We are working harder today than we ever have before and have most of our family working alongside us. We feel incredibly blessed to have the family and opportunity we have to share our heritage and, hopefully, bring a little bit of homemade memories back to people in our community.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our business is very much “mom and pop.” We aren’t business type people, we just had a dream and a craft and something to share with our community. We have learned a lot in the four years since opening our storefront. Things like the importance of social media, the impact of physical marketing, and probably the most important thing – you can’t make everyone happy. We do our best to keep our cabinets fully stocked with all of our flavors. However, we have not compromised on making everything fresh every morning. Because of this, there is a limit to what we are able to make each morning. We hate to run out of something before our closing time but it sometimes happens. We have learned to do our best, be proud of what we make, and not stress too much over what we aren’t able to do as a small staffed bakery. We will continue to arrive in the middle of the night to make our doughs and fillings so that when we open, you can be sure, everything was just made that morning. We will always be proud of that.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
You can’t visit town without getting BBQ. We love SMOAK TOWN right here in Fate. We are also huge fans of Rollin’ Beans coffee here in Fate, too. These places are great and the people you’ll meet there are top notch. Closer to Dallas you can’t miss going to Legacy food hall in Plano and grabbing something to eat. It’s also a great place to walk around and hang out. But if you are looking for Tex-Mex then you have to hit up La Hacienda Ranch. BEST fajitas you’ll ever have.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Without a doubt our mom and dad. They both have given so much of their time and energy to help us get started. They come in and work with us in the middle of the night and on weekends when they finish their regular jobs. They do anything we need done, like washing dishes or helping make fillings. They are awesome.

Website: www.fourczechsbakery.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FourCzechsBakery