![]() “I’ve been here a long time and, when you start out, you have to decide what you’re willing to do. ![]() to make the money to pay the rent,” Hart said. “Back in 20, I used to go down to the liquor store and work after I closed my business until 2 a.m. With that checked off of her list, she faced a new challenge: affording rent. Her dream had always been to open her business. ‘One Day, I’m Going To Buy This Building’ I used to tell them, ‘I don’t care if you call me something and I’m not, because you sing about me every day.’” Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Caramel cakes for sale at Brown Sugar Bakery. ![]() “I was at Downers Grove South in the late ’70s, and although that area has changed, I was definitely on the open end of integration. “That was the song I used to protect myself in high school,” Hart said. The move to the bakery’s current location would come a few years later.Īn avid rock and roll fan, Hart said she plucked the name of her business from one of her favorite bands, the Rolling Stones. In 2004, she opened the doors to her own business at 720 E. Without a doubt, Hart knew she wanted to bring a bakery to the community, she said. I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I stand a chance.’” I had never seen anything like that in Chicago that was all Black-owned. There was Lem’s Bar-B-Q and Soul Vegetarian. “There was an art gallery, shoe shops and tailor shops. “When I drove down 75th Street, I was amazed,” Hart said. She’d searched endlessly for a place to set up shop without success - until she arrived in Chatham for a hair appointment for her daughter, Hart said. By 2003, she was ready to open her own bakery, she said. Hart spent 20 years working in the technology industry in Chicago. My memories of receiving these cakes is a big thing that I wanted to be able to give to people.” Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Cupcakes for sale at Brown Sugar Bakery, 328 E. “My dream was that people would feel the love that I felt from cakes of my culture in the African-American community. Hart said she knew she wanted to bring that feeling of love and community to the world before she started the bakery. The kitchen was a safe place, but it was also a place where lessons, like how to ice a cake, were taught, Hart said. Over sweet cakes and hearty dinners, Hart’s family united as one, she said.Ĭonversations about the world from the point of view of the young and old infiltrated most meals. “They were goddesses to me because of how wonderful I felt when I had those foods.” Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago A caramel cake is set up on display at Brown Sugar Bakery. “I revered the women in my community that made the red velvet cakes, pound cakes, butter rolls and the butter cookies,” Hart said. Most importantly, Hart said, it was a sweet sign you were loved. If a loved one labored over a hot oven to prepare a cake, pie or plate of cookies for you, it was a special day. Hart said there would be no Brown Sugar Bakery without the love and labor of grandmothers past.Īs a child, desserts were more than a treat after dinner they were a gift, Hart said. That’s my goal.” Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Owner Stephanie Hart gestures to the perfect imperfection of a “Rainbow Sherbet” cake at Brown Sugar Bakery. “And my hope is after you eat them, you feel something that reminds you of family and friends and times of being loved. ![]() “People always strive for perfection, and I love that my cakes are perfectly imperfect,” Hart said. 2 on Instagram.įor Hart, it’s a culmination of 17 years in the business as a self-taught baker. “We got the keys,” the bakery posted Aug. Today, not only does she own one of the South Side’s most notable bakeries, she owns the building that houses it, too, at 328 E. Hart has spent countless days and even longer nights nailing the imperfections she embraces. CHATHAM - For Stephanie Hart, the owner of Brown Sugar Bakery, the secret behind creating any dessert is appreciating its imperfections.
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