Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Jackson.
Hi Andrea, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well, this business was started by my mother Myrtle Zachary Jackson with me by her side. My mother had a vision in 1995 to open a bakery and the moment she shared that with the family I was immediately on board after I did quick research on the WORLD WIDE WEB in 1995 on the baking industry; I was hooked from that day on. My mother and I spent 4-5 days a week after work at the downtown library doing research on starting a business in the baking industry. With the five years of research, I was able to create a business plan that we used as our guide to success. I actually still have a copy of it. My mother and I opened Not Jus’ Donuts Bakery on Dec 8, 2000. My initial goal was to continue with my professional career for another 5 years before joining the bakery full-time. Since I worked downtown and was didn’t have to go in the office on Fridays – I worked at the bakery on my days off and of course after my day of work I would spend the rest of my evenings at the bakery. A turn of events changed the whole trajectory of my plans. My maternal grandmother was struck with progressive dementia suddenly without warning or notice and my mother was very devasted and wanted to shut down the bakery after only 3 weeks in business. I had to make a tough decision for the sake of the business that we worked hard to start. I told my mother “Quitting is not an option”. I took an extended leave of absence from my career to help my mother run the business. After nearly 2 years on payroll on my job I then resigned so that I could give the bakery 100% of my time. My mother’s vision and dream to start the bakery was inspired by an incident that happened in 1991 after my maternal grandfather passed as she was closing out his house and packing up, she found a shoe box with a pile of insurance policies many with her name as the beneficiary and every one of those were lapsed. I witnessed my mother on the floor crying with that pile repeating over and over that she will be the last Zachary to not leave an inheritance or legacy She made it her mission to start a business but most importantly a legacy. My mother’s desire was she wanted to share with the world the goodness she grew upon all the while building a legacy for her children’s children. My mother was great cook and baker as she came from a long line of great cooks and bakers. Some of our recipes we use today at the bakery were passed down from her ancestors. One of our old family recipes that was passed down to my mother from one of the elders in the family when my mother opened the bakery. This recipe is the oldest recipe which is over 175 years old which my mother named Grandma Delia’s Teacake.
My mother’s vision became my vision when she and I were learning about opening up a bakery it became my passion through our research and for the love I have for my mother just deepen my passion even more. I always had the mindset that quitting wasn’t an option. After my mother’s passing 2021 I had to pay homage to the matriarch and founder by changing the name of the business from Not Jus’ Donuts Bakery to Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery to honor her legacy. Being the oldest and being my mother’s right hand in the business it was my responsibility to ensure that Myrtle’s legacy continues on.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well, it was not easy starting a business we were faced with many challenges. The first huge challenge was when my grandmother took ill with a very progressive form of Dementia. This was very difficult for us but even more so for my mother she also was the sole caregiver. I really had to step in and not only carry my load but also carry some of my mother’s load. My two sisters joined in to help during this difficult time but was even more of a learning curve for them because they didn’t participate in the development of the business, so this caused a lot of discord among us. The struggles of getting over the learning curve. Recreating small batch recipes into a larger batch. A major struggle was not having my mother there as much as we I wanted during the first four years because she was taking care of my grandmother. The most difficult challenge I had to face was continuing my mother’s legacy after her passing in 2021. With business and family is like oil and water. After my mother’s passing things became very chaotic here. It was my mother and I both fell ill to COVID August 2021. We were both hospitalized for nearly 2 months so during this time my sister was left running the business though she lacked the patience and passion to run the business she used the opportunity to run it as she saw fit. While I was in recovery which took nearly a year for me to get 85%, I watched my sister mismanaging the business as she lacked the passion as my mother and I. When I tried to suggest and assist it was never welcomed instead, I was always challenged with great opposition. This place became very toxic and chaotic, and the business was failing I stepped back and just focused on baking and just kept to myself for the most part. Soon later I received a call from 1-800 Flowers to become a partner to create Fruit Bouquets at the start 2023 I went into partnership with them and started this division within the bakery. Partnering with 1800Flowers was one of the greatest things I could have done to save the bakery. Near the end of 2023 my sister decided she no longer wanted to run the business. though after my return back to work she refused to relinquish her acting role until my return. When she turned the business back into my hands the bakery was 6 months behind on the lease, lots of unpaid bills and the bank account was overdrawn by $6000. So, at the start of 2024 my sister and her daughters didn’t return back to the bakery, and I was left with a failing business that left with the daunting task of turning around. Having the fruit bouquet business afforded me to have a separate business account from the bakery. Jan 16, 2024, was the start of a new era me running my mother’s legacy just how she wanted. The biggest challenge I faced was FEAR overcoming my fear – because quitting was not an option. I had to make this work without the staff it was Me, my then finance now husband and my best friend. The bakery went from a staff of 10 to 3.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Retail bakery – with our specialty – homemade southern desserts like grandma. Many of our recipes are from old family recipes that were passed down to my mother now to me. Teacakes is one of the recipes that is very dear to my heart – is from my great great grandmother Delia who was a slave from the Igbo tribe brought into slavery in La Grange, TX as a field hand then word got the slave owner of her great cooking she was quickly moved to the big house and was the cook until her retirement well after emancipation . My other dear to my heart recipe is my Bigmama’s Sweet Potato pie and the list goes on. What sets Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery apart is the history of the bakery with 25 years in the game as we specialize in homemade desserts that are all baked with my deep history, passion and my love as I continue the legacy of what my mother started sharing with the world the sweet goodness I grew up on.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I collect decorative eggs. I have nearly over 100 eggs that I started collecting in 1992. I love many genera of music.
Classic Rock, Country, jazz, Blues, R&B, Rap and Gospel. I love cooking just as much as I love baking
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.msmyrtlesbakery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msmyrtlesbakery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msmyrtlesbakery
- Youtube: @msmyrtlesbakery
