sweets by morgan
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Turning passion to pastries keeps bakery owner Morgan Coomer smiling. With a flour covered apron early in the morning, Coomer happily cuts brownies, ices cupcakes and prepares for the day ahead.
She makes cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls and many other sweet treats from scratch in her bakery, Sweets by Morgan, on Spring Street in Jeffersonville. Coomer’s love for baking started when she was a little girl. “I was always baking,” Coomer said. “I was a weird kid I guess.” |
She started helping her great-grandmother bake when she was 3 or 4 while her great-grandmother babysat her in her home in Utica. Her great-grandmother was constantly baking with all of her own recipes, she said.
Her dad also encouraged her baking by buying her cookbooks at yard sales and any supplies she needed to go with the recipes. Her great-grandmother was her inspiration because she was always encouraging as well, she said.
“She was awesome,” Coomer said. “She never told me there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
Instead of going to school to be a pastry chef or taking cake-decorating classes, Coomer attributes her baking and decorating abilities to a lot of practice and years of experience. She said she would spend time researching recipes while enrolled in Providence High School in Clarksville.
“My senior year I didn’t need many credits,” Coomer said. “I spent a lot of time looking up different recipes to try.”
Her dad also encouraged her baking by buying her cookbooks at yard sales and any supplies she needed to go with the recipes. Her great-grandmother was her inspiration because she was always encouraging as well, she said.
“She was awesome,” Coomer said. “She never told me there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
Instead of going to school to be a pastry chef or taking cake-decorating classes, Coomer attributes her baking and decorating abilities to a lot of practice and years of experience. She said she would spend time researching recipes while enrolled in Providence High School in Clarksville.
“My senior year I didn’t need many credits,” Coomer said. “I spent a lot of time looking up different recipes to try.”
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She started baking cakes for her grandparent’s restaurant, Ann’s by the River, also on Spring Street in downtown Jeffersonville where she ran her business for four years before opening a store at her own location.
“They were using frozen cakes, so I asked if I could make the cakes,” Coomer said. “My dad said as long as I could keep up with the volume I could.” Although she owns her own bakery, she still makes cakes for Ann’s; but she never dreamed that baking cakes at Ann’s would result in owning her own bakery. “I just never thought I could do it for a living until I got the bright idea to start making cakes at the restaurant,” Coomer said. “I just never thought of it.” She began handing out free samples while still working out of Ann’s kitchen, when there were events happening downtown. She also started a Facebook page to market herself. |
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As well as marketing herself on Facebook, she had customers that encouraged her by loving her cakes.
One customer in particular was obsessed with her chocolate cake, she said. He was able to convince his now-wife to let Coomer make their wedding cake.
“I had never made a wedding cake before,” Coomer said. “He told me he didn’t care what it looked liked as long as it was my chocolate cake.”
It was the first wedding cake she made, and that propelled her into the business of making custom cakes. Now she spends one to two hours a day baking 10 to 12 specialty cakes a week. She spends at least 12 hours a day working and more when the demand is high.
Her boyfriend, Josh Hook, quit his job as a mechanic to help Coomer start her business.
“I wanted to help her follow her dreams and knew it could possibly be good for our future,” Hook said.
In October 2014 Coomer and Hook opened Sweets by Morgan on Spring Street. Coomer taught Hook to bake the different treats she planned on serving.
“I like to make the cake pops best,” Hook said.
Coomer hired Brandi Happ in January 2015 to help out in her shop as well.
“We met each other through mutual friends,” Happ said. “I had helped out around Halloween, but was working with a catering service.”
Happ found herself in need of a new job, and Coomer offered her a position at her bakery.
“I fill display cases, help with brownies, and I help with anything Morgan needs,” Happ said.
Coomer said she is happy to have more help in her booming little business and cannot wait to teach Happ to make more of the treats she serves.
Her newest venture as a businesswoman is changing her store hours. Starting March 3, 2015 Coomer’s shop hours changed so that she is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The change was to allow her to make breakfast items, such as flavored cinnamon rolls.
“It’s scary, but exciting at the same time,” Coomer said.
She said she thinks it will be a good move for her business. She planned to visit other businesses around her shop to hand out breakfast samples to market her changing hours.
Looking to her future she said she hopes to stay in her current location because she loves downtown Jeffersonville.
“I definitely want to only have one store,” Coomer said. “I want to stay a fairly small business, maybe move to a bigger location someday though.”
Although there are many professions Coomer could have chosen, she said she could not see herself doing anything else in the world because she loves baking.
“It seems like cake always makes people happy,” Coomer said. “Nobody is really sad when they come into a cupcake shop. It’s not the same thing everyday. I really love it.”
One customer in particular was obsessed with her chocolate cake, she said. He was able to convince his now-wife to let Coomer make their wedding cake.
“I had never made a wedding cake before,” Coomer said. “He told me he didn’t care what it looked liked as long as it was my chocolate cake.”
It was the first wedding cake she made, and that propelled her into the business of making custom cakes. Now she spends one to two hours a day baking 10 to 12 specialty cakes a week. She spends at least 12 hours a day working and more when the demand is high.
Her boyfriend, Josh Hook, quit his job as a mechanic to help Coomer start her business.
“I wanted to help her follow her dreams and knew it could possibly be good for our future,” Hook said.
In October 2014 Coomer and Hook opened Sweets by Morgan on Spring Street. Coomer taught Hook to bake the different treats she planned on serving.
“I like to make the cake pops best,” Hook said.
Coomer hired Brandi Happ in January 2015 to help out in her shop as well.
“We met each other through mutual friends,” Happ said. “I had helped out around Halloween, but was working with a catering service.”
Happ found herself in need of a new job, and Coomer offered her a position at her bakery.
“I fill display cases, help with brownies, and I help with anything Morgan needs,” Happ said.
Coomer said she is happy to have more help in her booming little business and cannot wait to teach Happ to make more of the treats she serves.
Her newest venture as a businesswoman is changing her store hours. Starting March 3, 2015 Coomer’s shop hours changed so that she is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The change was to allow her to make breakfast items, such as flavored cinnamon rolls.
“It’s scary, but exciting at the same time,” Coomer said.
She said she thinks it will be a good move for her business. She planned to visit other businesses around her shop to hand out breakfast samples to market her changing hours.
Looking to her future she said she hopes to stay in her current location because she loves downtown Jeffersonville.
“I definitely want to only have one store,” Coomer said. “I want to stay a fairly small business, maybe move to a bigger location someday though.”
Although there are many professions Coomer could have chosen, she said she could not see herself doing anything else in the world because she loves baking.
“It seems like cake always makes people happy,” Coomer said. “Nobody is really sad when they come into a cupcake shop. It’s not the same thing everyday. I really love it.”
