About two years ago, we decided it was time to make some life changes. We wanted to be more present with our three girls; we wanted to show them the value of working hard; we wanted to contribute to our community. Thus, Three Daughters Baking was born! It began with a simple email a few weeks before Thanksgiving to friends and acquaintances asking if they were interested in ordering some holiday desserts. (Spoiler alert: they were!) A few more holidays and many celebration cakes later, Three Daughters moved operations into Garden State Kitchen, an incubator kitchen designed for burgeoning food businesses. This move allowed us to sell more product in pop-up shops and farmers' markets.
The three daughters (wo)manning the stand at the market
Now, we are moving into our own kitchen! We have joined forces with the General Store Cooperative and will be part of their Marketplace and Cafe. This is a collaborative effort between local, female entrepreneurs who believe that it makes more sense to work together than it does to compete. This co-retail experience features everything from New Jersey's first refill shop to encourage zero waste living, kitchenwares, and clothing from socio- and environmentally conscious makers to locally produced cheese, a coffee bar, and, of course, our bakery (with more to come)! The General Store Cooperative is located on Springfield Ave in Maplewood, NJ, where local residents are eager to support food, coffee, and shopping options close to home. We are looking to not only bring something unique to this particular neighborhood, but to the entire South Orange/Maplewood area.
Macarons coming to the shop!
Our family has lived in South Orange for 11 years, and we are excited to join the local business community. Chris and I will be drawing on our combined 38 years of experience in the food industry to bring thoughtfully sourced and deliciously refined pastries and savories to our friends and neighbors.
A day of pumpkin picking
Our project is already under way, but raising these funds will help with the next phases of the kitchen buildout as well as with the purchase of equipment and tools. We hope you will consider joining us in this endeavor. No donation is too small–plus, we have some fun rewards! Spreading the word helps, too: please feel free to share with anyone you think may be interested and/or able to help us with this venture.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story!
Erica and Chris Leahy
