Employee benefits for cafés and bakeries,made easy.
87% of U.S. coffee shops and snack bars have fewer than 20 employees.
You want great benefits for your team. You don’t have the time or the resources to get them.
That isn’t on you. For decades, the benefits industry has been built for big companies, and small businesses have been left to figure it out alone. Cakewalk was built for you.
How it works
You run your business. We handle the benefits.
Tell us about your business.
Start with your business name. We fill in what we can find. Connect payroll and your team comes with it.
Hundreds of options. One tailored package.
We compare hundreds of plans for your team. You get one package, priced and ready to adjust.
We get your team covered.
We invite your team. You see who has started. Each person gets help choosing. Everyone is covered.
Benefits admin. Off your plate.
New hires and departures sync from payroll. Each employee gets a benefits wallet. Their questions come to us, not you.
Your benefits team. On the house.
You pay for coverage. Insurance carriers pay us a commission, so we can handle everything from building your package to supporting your team year round, at no cost to you.
Cafés and bakeries at a glance
Offering benefits at a café or bakery
Early shifts, short shifts, and a small team that makes the place what it is. Here’s what shapes a benefits plan for a café or bakery.
- of U.S. coffee shops and snack bars have fewer than 20 employees
- 87%
- average weekly hours at coffee shops and snack bars in 2025
- 21.9
Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics: snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, 2025
- openings a year projected for bakers, 2025–2035
- 36,500
Short shifts and the tax credit
For the small business tax credit, part-timers count as full-time equivalents: total hours divided by 2,080, at most 2,080 per person. Forty-eight half-time employees make 24 FTEs, which is under the 25 limit.
Source: IRS Form 8941 instructions
Starting with dental
A SHOP marketplace plan can be health coverage only, dental only, or both, and stand-alone SHOP dental counts toward the tax credit.
Sources: HealthCare.gov: SHOP overview; IRS Form 8941 instructions
Early mornings and weekends
Most bakers work full time, but part-time work is common, and shifts start early. A SHOP marketplace plan has to be offered to employees averaging 30 or more hours a week.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: bakers; HealthCare.gov: who qualifies for SHOP
Benefits are your choice under 50
Employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees, counting full-time equivalents, aren’t subject to the federal requirement to offer coverage. Offering benefits is a decision you make for your team, not a mandate.
Source: IRS: applicable large employers
The small business tax credit
The federal credit can cover up to 50% of premiums for employers with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees and average wages under $68,200 in 2026, if you pay at least half of employee-only premiums and buy through the SHOP marketplace. Owners and their families don’t count toward the totals. SHOP plans aren’t offered everywhere, so check your state’s guide.
If you own the business through an S corporation
Premiums for an owner with more than 2% of an S corporation are deductible by the company and reported as wages on the owner’s W-2, but they aren’t subject to Social Security or Medicare tax. The owner may then be able to deduct them personally.
Source: IRS: S corporation compensation and medical insurance
The whole benefits package.
Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and income protection. Built around your business and the people who power it.
Start with your team’s needs and your business’s budget. Explore medical coverage online, or work with a benefits advisor to understand your options and choose your next step.
Questions café owners ask.
Add up their total hours, at most 2,080 per person, and divide by 2,080. Forty-eight half-time employees equal 24 full-time equivalents.
Tell us about your team.
We’ll follow up to learn about your business and walk you through your options. There’s no cost to work with us.
Prefer to start on your own?