While she was growing up in her native Serbia in what was once known as Yugoslavia, Dragana Stojanovic tried her hand in practically everything.
She was an avid karate student and then instructor. She went to school to study architecture. At one point, Stojanovic was a personal trainer and a waitress at some of the finest restaurants in Serbia – all by the age of 22.
Through it all, Stojanovic always had the dream of coming to the United States.
“I knew it was just a matter of time before I would come here,” Stojanovic said. “I had friends and family here. I knew that I had to come to the United States. Things would be better for me here.”
So when her friend, Mariusz Kolodziej, a native of Poland, offered the 24-year-old Stojanovic a business proposal, one that would require her moving from her native land to North Bergen, she jumped at the chance, not even realizing what the business opportunity was.
Kolodziej is the owner and operator of the Hudson Bread Company, a bread manufacturer on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen that dealt exclusively with wholesale distribution. Kolodziej wanted to be able to sell his product to the general public as well, so he asked Stojanovic if she was interested in running a new bread store and café adjacent to his bread factory.
“It was his idea and I agreed to it,” Stojanovic said.
So the enterprising young lady put all her money into bread. She became partners with Kolodziej in opening the Breadman Café and Bakery, which is located at 5601 Tonnelle Ave.
The business just opened last Monday, with Stojanovic as the lone employee.
“I’m here from when I open at 6 a.m. until I close at 6 p.m.,” Stojanovic said. “Then I have to clean up. It’s a long day, but I feel this place has a lot of potential.”
First and foremost, Breadman Café and Bakery features all the different breads that the Hudson Bread Company bakes on a daily basis.
“We have 200 different types of bread,” Stojanovic said. “Bread, bread sticks, all different kinds. It was a way for the public to buy Hudson Bread. It was strictly wholesale before we opened. People would always ask how they could buy Hudson Bread. Now they have a chance. Some neighbors said that they used to smell the bread baking for years and wanted to know how they could buy it.”
Stojanovic said that all of the breads baked on the premises are all natural and organic.
The Breadman Café is also a place where customers can just sit and mingle. There is an extensive seating area, with comfortable couches and chairs. There are plenty of magazines to read. Soon, the facility will have a flat screen television installed and wireless Internet capabilities.
Stojanovic used her architectural background to help design the entire store, especially the seating area.
“We want people to come and sit and relax,” Stojanovic said. “We want people to hang out here. It’s nice and cozy here.”
The Breadman Café also offers an assortment of coffees, espressos and cappuccinos, as well as pastries and cakes that are selected exclusively for the café. Stojanovic also offers soups and sandwiches for the lunchtime crowd.
“We only make bread here,” Stojanovic said. “Bread, bread, bread. I think the place is a mixture of Starbucks and Panera.”
Stojanovic said that she was happy to begin her business in an area of North Bergen that is on the rise. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station is just a few blocks away from Breadman Café. So is new restaurant Braddock’s.
“We wanted to choose this area because we knew it could work here,” Stojanovic said. “Sure, it’s a challenge, because we never had anything like this before. It’s still a big experiment, but we’re going to work it through.”
Good responses
Stojanovic, who studied English in grammar school in Serbia, said that she has been getting positive responses from the new customers over the first week of business.
“We’ve had about 15 people who have now already become steady regulars,” Stojanovic said. “They’re here every day. We have some of the teachers from the school across the street [Franklin School] that have been coming in. Word of mouth is getting out there.”
Stojanovic said that she understands four languages, including German and Austrian, which is good, because some of the bread bakers hail from that part of Europe.
“I now just have to work on my Spanish,” Stojanovic said. “I’m dealing with all kinds of challenges all the time. But I think it will work. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it would.”
If there’s only one obstacle thus far, it’s seeing a woman managing the ‘Breadman’ bakery.
“He [Kolodziej] is the godfather of this business, and that’s what he wanted,” Stojanovic said. “Maybe we’ll eventually change it to Breadwoman. We’ll see.”
It’s a title that the former karate student from Serbia wouldn’t mind holding on to for a very long time.
“I never imagined this would happen, that I would come here and run a bread store,” Stojanovic said. “It’s funny how things turn out.”
Breadman Café and Bakery, located at 5601 Tonnelle Ave. as part of the Hudson Bread Company factory, is open daily, Monday through Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call Hudson Bread at (201) 422-7900, ext. 1.