Get to know April Anderson; she is the co-owner of Good Cakes and Bakes located in Detroit, Michigan. The bakery garnered national recognition after its start in 2013 and even featured on the “Today Show.”
A Detroit native, Anderson became a mother just before turning 17 and went on to get an MBA. She later got a six-figure job working in corporate finance. However, baking had always been her passion. At the age of 9, she was making treats for her family, ILITCH Companies News Hub mentioned.
“I have always loved doing things with my hands. I think that’s why I love working with doughs like yeast rolls, cinnamon rolls, and biscuits. I am a hands-on learner,” she told Food & Wine in 2019.
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It’s been more than a decade since Anderson decided to quit her corporate job to launch her own bakery, Good Cakes and Bakes. Today, the business offers cookies, cupcakes, brownies, layer cakes, breakfast items, and vegan dessert options, per its website. Anderson has also baked for several stars including Oprah Winfrey and the late Aretha Franklin
The beginning was not easy for her as she had to put in 20-hour days, six days a week. Today, that sacrifice has paid off. Good Cakes and Bakes bakery made more than $1 million last year after expenses, according to Detroit News.
As it takes its consumers and employees seriously, the bakery uses organic ingredients and pays its employees a living wage. It has also employed seven returning citizens since opening.
When the pandemic hit, Anderson switched from in-person ordering to online ordering as she was one of a few bakeries in Metro Detroit that already had online ordering setups. The business was okay at the time since Anderson and her team started selling wholesale in grocery stores and shipping orders nationwide. But now, rising ingredients, labor costs and inflation are beginning to affect her business.
Indeed, since 2020, ingredients for baking have skyrocketed, partly due to COVID-19 supply chain complications as well as the Ukraine-Russia war. And nothing much has changed post-pandemic.
Despite the challenges, Anderson said she has no plans of leaving the bakery she founded with her spouse Michelle Anderson. “I never once thought about quitting,” Anderson said. “I always think about my staff and the community. It’s a labor of love.”
