[ngg_images gallery_ids=”416″ display_type=”ds-nextgen_royalslider”]
The Lemonade Bakery, a home-based Manassas bakery – owned by Kelly Stroh – gives individuals with food allergies an opportunity to enjoy yummy treats.
“My third son has severe allergies…and I had to learn to bake for him. And after working on some of that, I realized that I enjoyed baking and it was something I could do with four small children,” said Stroh.
Stroh started off making cookies and cakes in her own kitchen, and the business has grown over the years.
According to Stroh, all of her products are peanut, nut and egg-free, but they can also accommodate other food allergies.
“We do custom orders primarily. We do orders for individuals – a dozen cupcakes or a cake – all the way up to schools, where we do over 1,000 cookies at a time. We do a lot of [orders for] local schools and daycares centers, a lot of them that have a nut free policy…we’re one of the few [commercial bakeries] that are peanut and nut free,” Stroh said.
The bakery’s most popular item are their glazed sugar cookies, which can be made in any shape and decorated.
Right now The Lemonade Bakery offers cakes, cupcakes and cookies, but they’re hoping to add donuts and cinnamon rolls to their lineup.
In the next few months, Stroh and her family plan to move forward with finding a storefront in the Manassas area.
They attempted to fund the expansion through a Kickstarter campaign, which was not successful, but they were able to identify investors to help make the store a reality.
“We didn’t meet our goal – but we got pretty close…what we’re doing now is rounding up a team of private investors for us,” said Stroh.
For Stroh, the business signifies a way to deal with a difficult situation in a positive way.
“A big part of why I wanted to do this was to show my kids that everybody has their challenges, and it’s what you do with them. So you have your lemons – which are your food allergies – and we’re going to make lemonade by making something we enjoy, but it helps others also,” stated Stroh.
