Walter Pat’s Bakery Cafe, a seasonally driven, small-batch, Black woman-owned bakery, has won the 2025 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest by TechTown, taking home the $100,000 grand prize from Comerica Bank to open a brick-and-mortar business.
Lauren Ellis, founder and owner of Walter Pat’s, has been a pastry chef for more than a decade. She has worked in New York, Chicago, and Sydney, Australia. Her business is named after her grandmother, who Ellis looks to as an inspiration of hard work and staying true to herself.
With the $100,000 business grant, Ellis plans to open a storefront in District 5, where her grandmother lived. The district runs north from the river to I-94, and includes parts of the east side of downtown Detroit and beyond, New Center, and west, including the Boston-Edison Historic District.
Walter Pat’s Bakery Café specializes in viennoiseries (baked goods made in the style of Vienna, Austria), such as croissants, Danish pastries, brioche, and specialty bread.
With a focus on Michigan seasonal produce and flavors from both the Midwest and the South, the bakery offers unique flavor combinations alongside several classics.
This year, the 13th so far, the three runner-up finalists were awarded a $10,000 grant to assist with the opening of their storefronts, courtesy of TechTown’s Small Business Support Hub grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
“TechTown is proud of Walter Pat’s Bakery Cafe’s win and excited to continue to support the business as it grows into a staple in the local community,” says Christianne Malone, Assistant vice president for economic development at Wayne State University, and chief program officer of TechTown Detroit.
“All of this year’s Top 4 businesses will bring vitality to Detroit’s small business ecosystem, and TechTown will continue to work with these entrepreneurs to help them bring their dream businesses to life and strengthen the communities in which they will be based.”
Throughout the 2025 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest, public voting determined which businesses advanced in the competition, narrowing 10 semi-finalists down to four finalists.
Four four finalists — Detroit Culture & Clay, Halie & Co, Livy’s Sweet Rolls, and Walter Pat’s Bakery Cafe — were selected.
A second round of public voting opened on June 2, and concluded June 11 after each of the finalists pitched their business ideas live to a panel of judges and an audience of their community, families, and peers.
Public votes and the judges’ deliberation were taken into consideration in selecting Walter Pat’s Bakery Cafe as the winner of the Hatch Off event on June 11, at the Wayne State University Industry Innovation Center in Detroit.
“Comerica Bank works extensively with small businesses and recognizes the hard work by each of the top four finalists. Each of these entrepreneurs has a promising future, as their retail storefront locations enhance our community,” says Meghan Storey, senior vice president, Michigan director of small business at Comerica Bank.
“The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest by TechTown continues to foster some of the best and brightest small business owners through access to capital guidance and technical assistance. Congratulations to Walter Pat’s Bakery Cafe — we look forward to watching this company flourish and provide value in their neighborhood and surrounding area.”
Overall, including this year’s contributions and grants, Comerica Bank and the Comerica Charitable Foundation have invested approximately $1.3 million into Hatch Detroit since it first began supporting the small business program in 2012.
Walter Pat’s Bakery Cafe joins previous winners, including G.L.A.M. Body Scrubs (2024), Bouncing Around The Motor City (2023), Little Liberia (2022), 27th Letter Books (2019), Baobab Fare (2017), Meta Physica Massage (2016), Sister Pie (2014), Batch Brewing Company(2013), and La Feria (2012).
TechTown Detroit, Wayne State University’s entrepreneurship hub, is a nonprofit business service organization that provides programs, education, and resources for early- to growth-stage small businesses and tech entrepreneurs.
By building bridges for entrepreneurs to succeed, TechTown is accelerating an inclusive economy for Detroit and Southeast Michigan. Since 2007, TechTown has supported more than 6,090 companies, which created 2,277 jobs and raised more than $406 million in startup and growth capital.
For more information, visit techtowndetroit.org.
Hatch Detroit was founded in 2011 to give residents and aspiring entrepreneurs in the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park an opportunity to have a voice in neighborhood retail development.
It joined TechTown Detroit’s suite of entrepreneurial programs and services in 2022. Beyond the contest, Hatch Detroit provides funding, exposure, and mentoring in support of its alumni entrepreneurs.
With support from Hatch Detroit, 50 alumni have opened businesses. They employ over 500 people and have invested over $10 million in economic development.
For more information, visit hatchdetroit.com.
