Real People Empty Nesting:

An Interview with Margie Greenberg and Abbey Alpert:
Who Says Mothers and Daughters Can’t Run a Business Together?

By Robin Bonner

As she saw her youngest child and only daughter off to college, Margie Greenberg found herself at loose ends. A party planner for more than 20 years, she wanted to try something new. Drawing on her many creative talents and interests, Margie tried volunteering at a local arboretum, attending classes, and baking for parties. Soon, Abbey graduated from college with a degree in interdisciplinary studies and a knack for marketing and business. Because of a tough job market, she took a position making cookies until she found a “real job.” Her brother, with Lehman Brothers in NYC at the time, said, “Hey, why don’t you two go into business together?” And so, The Flour Pot Cookie Boutique was born.

In just 8 short years, Margie and Abbey have brought the business out of Margie’s kitchen into a facility that produces, bakes, cools, decorates, wraps, packs, and ships, on average, 2,500 specially ordered cookies for individuals and corporations each week. Clients include Polo Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, Omni Hotels, Mattel, The Ritz-Carlton, and FedEx. Oprah magazine, Glamour, House Beautiful, and countless other national periodicals, plus The Food Network, have all featured their work. The ladies give cookie-decorating birthday parties on the weekends, and even bachelorette parties. Currently, they’re expanding their business to wholesaling nationwide: Flour Pot Cookies will soon be available in FoodStuffs stores in Chicago, Food Source on the Main Line of Philadelphia, Westside Market in NYC, as well as other upscale boutiques across the country.

Margie and Abbey are no ordinary mother-daughter duo. “Sometimes it’s a little nerve-wracking having Abbey’s desk right behind mine” in their tiny (pink) office piled high with computer hardware and binder-encased client files, Margie admits. “But working with her is the best part of the business.” Abbey agrees. “I love working with my mom!” she says. Margie is the artist—she comes up with the designs and oversees the creative aspects of the business. Abbey puts her business and marketing skills to good use. The business employs 5 or 6 people year-round, with up to 15 on two shifts during the fall and winter holiday season.

When you approach The Flour Pot in Ambler, PA, the shop’s outward appearance is misleading. At the rear of 75 E. Butler Avenue, its front “door” is the last loading dock in an alley, next to an electric supply store. Once you step inside, though, you forget everything else as happiness smacks you in the face. From the yummy smell of baking cookies to the cheery decor of the retail area (one plaque reads “A Balanced Diet: One Cookie in Each Hand”), you can’t help but smile. Wire shelves on lime-green walls display aprons in a riot of colors, black and white polka-dot gift boxes, cookbooks (The Flour Pot Ladies have published two), various cookie-related knickknacks, and, of course, the ubiquitous colorfully decorated, cellophane-wrapped, and festively beribboned cookies for which The Flour Pot is famous—in every shape and size, and sporting nearly every decorative motif imaginable.

And nothing compares to those cookies. Just one bite and you’re hooked—ready to order and send to friends and relatives far and wide. Although the fave is a sugar cookie with a distinctive taste, the bakery also offers an alternative recipe in chocolate and one in gingerbread around the holidays. Racks offering trays and trays of these brightly decorated confections stand in rows, and neatly wrapped boxes line the floor, waiting for FedEx. A delivery map on the office wall shows shipping availability to all 50 states (and Flour Pot cookies have made their way to all of them).

Margie and Abbey are darlings—to meet them is to love them, as well as their cookies. They have a good thing going. Their story is one for the books—and it’s one they’ve been kind enough to share with Empty Nest . . .

EN: Margie, many a mother dreams of working with her child in her empty-nesting years. Or does she? What led you to open The Flour Pot with your daughter? Describe your relationship with Abbey over the years, and your own career path. How has your relationship with her changed, if at all, since the shop opened?

MG: Abbey and I have always had a great relationship, and I love to bake. So the timing was just right and things fell into place for us to go into business together. I like to work and to be busy, so working full time has always been important to me. I don’t think our relationship has changed. We’ve just gotten older! I’ve gone from listening to Abbey’s lamentations over boyfriends to helping her plan her wedding—all while we were working together! We even get together to go shopping on our days off.

EN: Abbey, you attended Emory University in Georgia. What career did you picture yourself pursuing after graduation? Did you ever think you’d be running a cookie business? What attracts you to this work? And what’s it like to work with your Mom? (What do your friends think of it?) How would you say your relationship with her has changed, if at all, since opening the business together?

AA: I really didn’t know what I wanted to do—and no, I certainly didn’t think I would be running a cookie business! But I’ve always loved food, so in retrospect it seems it was a natural choice. Really, for us the timing was everything. I’ve learned a lot about myself by being in business.

When I would tell my friends that my mom and I were working together, they’d just look at me in sympathy because they couldn’t imagine working with their mothers. But I love it! Mom and I never had any of those mother-daughter issues while I was growing up. She respected and trusted me, so I never had occasion to “act out.” When I was growing up, we were inseparable. I don’t think my relationship with my mom has changed—we are still as close as ever. The problems that we deal with have changed over time, but we just adapt.

EN: Margie, how did you juggle family life and work while raising your children? What kind of work does your husband do? How supportive were he and your sons when you and Abbey opened The Flour Pot? What is their involvement, if any, now?

MG: I was a party planner for about 20 years—it was always important to me to be there when my three kids got home from school. My husband has his own business (with my son, in fact) and from the very beginning he has been 100% supportive. He’s very business savvy, and he knew we had something good going. My husband now is one of our business advisors.

EN: What was business like when The Flour Pot first opened? How did you attract your first customers? What events made things “take off” for you and how long did it take? How did you “roll with the punches” and nurture the business over time? Did any agonizing decisions need to be made along the way?

MG: We began by working out of a tiny commercial kitchen and getting our orders mainly by word of mouth. Everything changed when Don Polec did a piece on us for ABC’s Action News and we received a call from Al Roker and the Food Network. That was about 4 months into our first year, and then the business took off. It happened very early on. We were very lucky. About a year and a half after first opening, we moved into a bigger facility. As for agonizing decisions, there really were none—we just trusted our gut. If it felt natural for us, we went for it!

EN: Abbey, you are now married. Tell us about your courtship. How has your involvement in the business changed with your new role? Do you see children in your future?

AA: I’ve been married for a year and half and definitely see kids in our future. I wooed my husband with cookies! He has been very supportive of my work from early on, and he understands the long hours I need to put in over the holidays. In fact, that’s when he went shopping for an engagement ring. I would get home at 11 p.m. and crash—of course I had no idea what he was up to.

EN: Margie and Abbey, describe a “typical day” at The Flour Pot. What are your usual hours and activities?

MG: Except for the fall and winter holidays, we have a typical 9 to 5 workday. Abbey and I help customers mostly. I work Saturdays and have off on Mondays, whereas Abbey has off on Saturdays and works Mondays. So, we don’t get sick of each other. The holidays are crazy, though! Beginning November 1 and running through January 1, we increase our staff and work in several shifts.

AA: My mom does all the initial design work, whereas I handle the marketing.

EN: Where do you see The Flour Pot Cookie Boutique going over time? Are there any new and exciting plans on the drawing board?

MG/AA: We hope to continue to grow. We’re getting into wholesaling our cookies. They’ll soon be appearing in retail establishments across the country.

EN: Margie, in closing, what do you do for “fun”? Do you have any tips for new empty nesters?

MG: Keep busy! I adore spending time with my grandchildren. We go up to New York a lot to see them. Aside from family time and working, I love to travel. We’re going to the Arctic to see the polar bears this summer. We’ve gone on safari in Africa, taken cooking classes in Morocco, sailed in Croatia. . . . I’m an avid photographer, so anywhere I can use my camera, I’m happy!