Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Harksen.
Hi Stacy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
One thing I’ve always loved is baking. I’ve been baking cheesecakes for 35 to 40 years now, and even when I was making desserts for family and friends, I knew I wanted to own my own business someday.
When I moved to Portsmouth in 2017, I purchased a house built in the early 1900s and completely renovated it. Knowing that I eventually wanted to start a baking business, I designed a kitchen that was nearly 580 square feet. Once the renovations were finished, I got to work baking cheesecakes and letting my neighbors be my taste testers. Before long, it became clear that I was ready to start my home bakery.
Everything was going great, but in 2023 I told myself that I wanted to take the next step and either open a food truck or a retail bakery. I truly believe that when you put something out into the universe, opportunities have a way of finding you.
Not long after, I learned about a space available in Olde Towne Portsmouth, just a couple of miles from my house. I immediately got to work securing it. Around the same time, I was invited to participate in the farmers market. While we were preparing the bakery space for opening, I sold cheesecakes at the market and sold out almost every weekend.
On February 10, 2024, we opened the doors to Hello Sweetie Cheesecakes, and it’s been an amazing journey ever since. I started out by myself, and today I have four bakers working alongside me. We’re even beginning to think about opening a second location one day.
Life has been amazing—and very busy—to say the least! 😊🍰
It’s Cheesecake Time! 💕
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a pretty smooth road, honestly. I think having the home bakery for several years before opening the retail location helped a lot. One thing I did struggle with was marketing. As a business owner, there are only so many hours in the day, and I’d much rather be in the kitchen baking cheesecakes than creating social media posts! Thankfully, one of my employees now handles our marketing, and she’s done a fabulous job. Her creativity and consistency have helped us reach so many new customers. 🍰💕
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
So, our main product is cheesecakes, obviously! 😂 We do have amazing cookies and brownies, but the shining stars are definitely our cheesecakes.
I’ve had customers tell me they’re the best cheesecakes they’ve ever had, and some have even said they’re the best in the world. One customer wrote to me and compared our cheesecakes to desserts made by chefs in Italy and France, which I thought was pretty incredible.
I think what sets us apart from other cheesecake bakeries is our creativity. We offer a huge variety of flavors—most of the time, we have more than 20 flavors for customers to choose from, and we change them regularly. My team is amazing, and they love coming up with new flavor ideas, which keeps things exciting for both us and our customers.
We have customers who drive an hour or more just to visit us and pick up their favorite cheesecakes. That kind of loyalty means the world to me.
What I’m most proud of is what my team and I have accomplished together. We work incredibly well as a group, and I think that passion and teamwork really show in everything we create.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I think my favorite childhood memory was watching my Grandma and my Maw Maw bake amazing desserts. One memory that really sticks with me is watching my Grandma make an apple pastry completely from scratch with no recipe at all. I remember thinking, “Wow, how does she do that?” That’s when I told myself that one day I wanted to be able to create desserts like that too. Looking back, I think that’s where my passion for baking started. 🍎🥧💕
Pricing:
- Personal Pan Cheesecakes $9 – $15
- Full size cheesecakes $60 – $150
- Cookies $4 – $6.50
- Brownies $6 – $7.50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Hellosweetcakes.com
- Instagram: @hellosweetiecheesecakes
- Facebook: @hellosweetiecheesecakes
