When Jessica Channell was 12 years old, she watched her grandmother make German chocolate cake. It was her father’s favorite dessert, and Channel wrote down every detail needed to make it. From creaming butter and sugar to whipping egg whites, Ms. Channel watched her delicious traditions come to life by her grandmother’s side.
Currently, she can be seen running Jessikakes, a bakery located just off Industrial Boulevard in Covington.
The idea of owning her own bakery first surfaced in 2004, when Channell gave birth to her daughter Alana. She wanted to earn an income, but she also knew she needed to be at home with her new baby.
“I looked for ways to make money working from home,” Channell said. “And then I looked at her self and tried to figure out exactly how I could work from her home and make money while she was a baby.”
While looking for a home-based job to meet her needs, she encountered regulations regarding opening a home bakery. Upon discovering her requirements, she jumped at the opportunity to pursue her passion, which dates back to watching her grandmother bake her German chocolate cakes in the kitchen.
Photo by Jessica Channell, Jessicakes Bakery
“Back then, there were no laws regarding home-cooked meals,” Channell said. “So in order to be able to get a license and sell it, we had to convert the laundry room in the basement into a completely separate kitchen.”
At that time, Channel excelled in the kitchen and made delicious cakes and pies with a variety of flavors. Her wholesale business was doing well until the Great Recession forced her to change direction.
“When the recession hit in 2007 and 2008, almost all the restaurants closed,” Channell said. “So I had to go back to the drawing board and figure out what I could do in a niche from there, because what I was doing wasn’t working anymore.”
The economic downturn forced Channell to stop selling baked goods to other restaurants, but it gave her the opportunity to earn a degree and improve certain elements of her craft. .
Channel was confident when it came to baking cakes. But when it came time for her to decorate, she was lost.
“Instead of selling professionally to other restaurants, I started working on my own craft and decor,” Channel said. “And I make custom cakes for friends and family.” [and] We also have weddings here and there. ”
After the recession, baking went from a business plan to a hobby for Channel. He almost ended up working behind a desk as a certified public accountant when he changed jobs in 2013.
But a conversation with her fiancé quickly changed her mind.
“And he said, ‘Why do I have to take a detour to get where I want to go?'” Channel said. “It’s like, ‘If you want to open a bakery, just open a bakery.'”
Channell opened Jessikakes in May 2013 with the full support of her family. That name of hers was given to her by one of her friends many years ago.
“And she said, ‘If I were ever to run a bakery, I think Jessikakes would be a really cool name,'” Channel said.
Photo by Jessica Channell, Jessicakes Bakery
In a market filled with bakeries and pastry shops, Channel needed a way to make her shop stand out from the crowd. Although she takes pride in her custom cakes, her number one priority is interacting with her customers.
“My customers are the best part of my job,” Channel said. “They become part of my family. That’s why I take pride in my work and always want them to be happy and enjoy their cake.”
Customers who walk into Jessikakes are not only greeted with cake, but with memories they will cherish forever. These values are influenced by Ms. Channel’s grandmother, whom she witnessed baking that German chocolate cake many years ago.
Channel said her grandmother poured love into everything she did, which is the foundation on which she hopes to build Jessikakes.
“I don’t just make cakes for their memories [or] It’s a special occasion for them,” Channell said. “But every time they see those pictures, they remember coming to the bakery and talking to me and picking up the cake and tasting the cake. So I don’t just bake cakes. , it becomes part of their family memories.”
Photo by Jessica Channell, Jessicakes Bakery
