In the heart of Galway on the Irish coast, Magpie Bakery has quickly become a local favorite for coffee and baked goods. Their handmade sourdough and pastries are made out of organic, local ingredients, and even the coffee is roasted just up the road. The homegrown taste speaks for itself: without spending on advertising, Magpie thrives on word of mouth, rave reviews, and instagrammable pastries.
Chef-turned-entrepreneur Cian Mooney founded Magpie Bakery in 2021 after honing his craft at renowned bakeries. Running out of a 430 square foot space and with less than a dozen staff, the bakery is open four days a week due to production constraints. Despite their petite size, Magpie has built a loyal following, with lines forming daily and customers often waiting 20 to 30 minutes for their baked goods.
The Role of Digital Payments
From his experience, Cian knew speed and efficiency were essential to business. “We aim to get a customer every 40 seconds,” said Cian, “The speed and clarity of Square’s system make that possible.”
Cian has found that customers prioritise clarity, speed and consistency in payments. With the digital point of sale, staff are able to process customers in under a minute. Magpie can also process refunds just as easily, and even remotely, making it easier for Cian to run the business side of the bustling kitchen.
The portable point of sale devices also sync in real time, allowing Magpie baked goods to be sold at pop-ups and markets, and allowing Cian to explore a second location. A larger production site would allow longer opening hours, more variety, and the potential to offer merchandise. Cian is confident digital payments could support operations through this expansion.
Continuing Challenges
For Magpie Bakery, their sales build on momentum. Service outages can cause them to turn away a queue of customers, which can mean losing a quarter of daily sales in an hour. For SMBs like Cian’s which process large volumes of sales and which need to sell their baked goods while they are fresh, reliability is essential.
The bakery’s continued use of cash also slows them down. Magpie still accepts 10 to 20 percent of their sales in cash, as Cian aims to be inclusive of all customer preferences and cash is preferred by some Magpie patrons. Magpie makes up for the drawbacks, like slower transactions and the risk of robbery, with the speed and efficiency of their digital payments.
