The Bakist Of North Beach: How A Self-Made Business Became A Town Staple

NORTH BEACH, Md. — The Bakist is a coffee shop and bakery situated in a prime spot on Bay Avenue in North Beach. The building includes a wide front porch that opens into the street, inviting passersby and regulars alike into the coveted “third space.”

Deserae “Dez” Virago always knew she wanted to own a coffee shop — and the property it sat on. She started working in a café as a teenager and knew right away that it was the path for her.

“I just loved it,” she said. “I knew it’s what I wanted to do and I went for it.”

Virago did what many self-made people have done before and since. She headed to her local library and absorbed everything she could about how to open and run a business. She talked to local business owners and got hands-on experience working in the industry, then opened her own coffee stand in her hometown of Spokane, Washington, at only 19 years old.

As her business grew, Virago continued expanding her ideas and space. She owned a shop similar to the Bakist in Spokane, where she honed her baking skills and perfected recipes — including her popular (gluten-free) pumpkin brown sugar muffin.

Then, when she was planning a move to Maryland to support a spouse in the military, she fell in love with North Beach. It was 2019, and she’d only ever seen the town on Google Maps before moving there.

“I just walked around on the map,” she said. “I loved the boardwalk, the water. I loved how you could walk around. I knew it’s where I wanted to be. I could see the whole thing happening.”

Once she had her feet on the ground in the Beaches, Virago worked at Sweet Sue’s, the bakery that used to sit on the corner of Bay Avenue and Seventh Street before Virago converted it to The Bakist. She worked there on weekends as a baker, and later bought the business and rebranded it. She insists there’s no specific vision or character for The Bakist’s vibe — it’s just things she likes and wants to try, and thinks people will enjoy. Fittingly, many customers say it feels “very West Coast.”

Her goal for customers was to create a third space where people can sit, relax and feel comfortable. Her own goal, meanwhile, was to own her business and the business property. So when an opportunity opened up just down the block at 9124 Bay Ave., she jumped on it, hoping to achieve both goals at once.

It was a huge transition that left many people in the community missing their espresso fix — The Bakist only re-started its espresso offerings this April, leaving a coffee gap in town that couldn’t be filled.

While people were missing their delicious espresso drinks, Virago was missing 40% of her revenue. Espresso is a driver of both customers and interest, and losing this portion of the business was just one of the many setbacks in opening the new location.

“I just had to keep pivoting,” Virago said. “It was nonstop trying to make this work. We still have so much to do to make this space everything it can be.”

Virago talked about the stresses of permits, licensing, redoing blueprints, navigating electrical issues and downsizing her home. She talked about the stress of securing capital and investors backing out.

But these things happen, she says, and pointing fingers doesn’t help accomplish anything or keep a project moving. Opening any business comes with risk, and her goal of owning the property added to the challenge.

She’s pragmatic about the hurdles but lights up when talking about the future of her café and the people who come in. After the last two years of pushing through chaos, the customers are still what makes this worth it — and are why she fell in love with coffee shops in the first place.

Future plans include a kitchen expansion and setting up a shared kitchen for other businesses to access. She also hopes to host game nights, trivia, live music and listening nights for people to play all the records she has in the store.

“We have so many amazing people in this community. I wanted to give people a place to go and hang out and be with friends. I want people to be able to step off that beautiful boardwalk and feel at home.”

And as long as there are customers, she will keep on baking.

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