The Bakery Down The Street started simply as my last resort to make my daughter who was turning three a birthday cake.
In June of 2004 my dad was diagnosed with “end stage” renal failure. The doctors advised me that he needed to be admitted to hospice since he only had less than 3 months to live. But my daddy said he wanted to come home with me. I immediately contacted my employer and requested a leave of absence. There began my journey…. At age 20, I spent the following days taking care of my 3 children (ages 1, 2, 8 months old) and my dying father (52 years old).
Days were up and down and quite an emotional roller coaster for my oldest child and me. She could not understand why grandpa no longer could get up or play with her. Fast forward to the end of July, my daughter’s birthday was right around the corner. I knew taking the leave from my job would cost me. One of the things that hit the hardest, I could not afford to buy my daughter a cake. Since I baked on and off, I figured I should give it a try.
Her cake was AWFUL, but no one complained. But I had made up in my mind that I would try it again when thing calmed down. A couple weeks later, I tried it again and SUCCESS! I made a good cake. By this time (mid August) my son was close to turning 2 and I baked his cake. In an attempt to get my daddy out, I had the party at his grandmother’s house. My daddy really enjoyed the party. He even got up to sing happy birthday. But I can see in his eyes that he was exhausted, so we went home. From then on my daddy’s health declined. As hospice explained, he would eat less, breathe less and possibly want to be alone more… and it basically meant he was getting closer to leaving me.
On September 2, my daddy went on to be with the Lord. This was the saddest event, next to my mom dying when I was 7, in my life. I spent the following months trying to regroup. Moving on to the end of October, my baby was turning 1. That brought some joy, but also sadness, wishing my daddy just could have made it to see her turn one.
I began to bake for family and friends. Soon they encouraged me to sell my cakes. I really didn’t feel comfortable, so I just kept baking for free.
In 2005, I had twins, and life got even busier. I had decided to go back to school. So I was a mother of 5, a student, a hobby baker and planning a wedding. In 2007, I got married and kept going with life as usual… baking, school, busy mom of 5 and a wife. In 2008, a week after our anniversary, my husband died suddenly and all the feelings of sadness and protecting my children from emotional upsets became the priority. For years after that, I just kind of made it through the days the best I could, BUT I still wanted to go back into baking. At first it was kind of hard because my husband was a big part of the business. There were lots of tears and firsts without him. My first cake delivered without him, I promoted my business for the first time without him… and it was so overwhelming.
Today in 2011, I’m happy to bake cakes. I absolutely love baking and decorating. I’m here to provide the best possible service and product for my customers. The Bakery Down The Street is up and running and I’m very excited for the future of the company. I’m constantly working on new recipes, techniques, and ways for shipping. Currently, I sell sheet cakes, cupcakes, cake in a cup, carved cakes, cake pops and cake truffles!
In addition to my business, my 9-year-old daughter has her own business, “Shalae’s Sweets”, where she makes chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, chocolate lollipops and so much more! Through all the trials I feel extremely blessed to have experienced these events and still be here to tell it. I am a stronger woman because of it. I hope my passion and heart shines through all that I do.
Thank you for reading about the evolution of The Bakery Down The Street! I look forward to hearing from you.
