Meet Sara Stokes | Owner & Head Baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Stokes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
One of the things that’s really important to me in starting a business is being a positive addition to the community. The businesses that inspire me the most have a creative vision that makes a neighborhood more friendly and unique and brings people together. We need more businesses that are making people’s lives better.

So, starting out, I’ve participated in community fundraiser bake sales, and as the business grows, I really hope to partner with local charities to donate a portion of sales. I’d love to someday have a location with space to host events and meet-ups, and just be a place where everyone feels welcome, valued and safe.

I’m also an avid animal-lover and vegetarian, so I’ve been working to use more ingredients that are sustainable and humane. I always use free-range eggs and more dairy alternatives. I’ve been experimenting with butter alternatives too, which is the hardest thing to substitute in my opinion, because it’s so important to the structure of many pastries.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business started as a pandemic daydream. I’d left my job at a bakery and moved to Nashville about a year and a half prior, and I missed the restaurant grind a lot. We had nowhere to go, no one to see, so I started doing a lot of project baking in my little apartment kitchen. It’s crazy how quickly pastries can pile up when there’s just two people trying to maintain a somewhat reasonable diet.

I’ve always thought about starting my own restaurant or bakery, I just didn’t know what that looked like or how to get there. But stuck inside with a lot of time to bake, I started researching cottage food regulations and realized I could actually sell stuff that I made in my kitchen. So that was a good start. Lots of restaurants were pivoting to delivery-only at the time, and I borrowed that business model and offered local delivery through my very modest website. It’s low-volume, but it was exciting to get it off the ground.

I’m still very much in the growth phase. I’m trying to learn how to balance a full-time job with my little business, and that’s one of the biggest challenges. Looking forward, I really want to get out and do more pop-up markets and farmer’s markets. I think it’s a great way to get your name out there and test production and cost management.

The unifying factor in all of this though, is just that I want to create a product and a brand that’s about the feel-good moment of enjoying something. That moment when you see something that looks so delicious, and you excitedly take a bite and close your eyes and just go “ugh, yes.” because it’s so delicious. And it doesn’t matter if you’re getting your ass kicked at work, or your kids are screaming, or maybe you’re on a first date realizing you actually like this person, but that little bite, that little moment, just gives you a reprieve, or heightens the joy. It’s what keeps me excited about baking, and eating, and exploring new recipes. And I think it’s a really wonderful part of life that I can share.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m definitely the person in the group trip making an unnecessarily detailed itinerary, so I’m all about this!

We’d have to hit up my favorite spots in Inglewood. I think all my favorite food in the city is in a 5-mile radius of this neighborhood. We’d start with breakfast at Mr. Aaron’s Goods (bagel sandwiches of your dreams), and then go for a walk at Shelby Park until we were hungry again.

The next stop would be Slow Hand Bakehouse, but we could take a detour to A Little Shop of Things on Gallatin Ave and get some cute little tchotchkes and souvenirs. Every pastry at Slow Hand is incredible, but I’m a sucker for their cookies (so thick and chewy!) and their lattes. The biscuits are to die for, too.

I love the Shoppes on Fatherland too, especially Gifthorse for Nashville-themed swag and fun little accessories. It’d be hard to say no to another snack at Guerilla Bizkits – my go-to is the jalapeno cherry biscuit with Impossible sausage.
One of my favorite things to do on a trip is visit a local bookstore, so we’d definitely have to visit Novelette (the cutest little bookstore with a killer sci-fi/fantasy collection), and we’d leave with a stack of books.

I’d finish the day full-circle back at TKO for dinner (housed in the same restaurant as Mr. Aaron’s Goods). It’s always chill, good drinks, and their entire menu of family-style American Chinese food is craveable. They switch it up a lot with seasonal vegetables, but I’m definitely getting an eggroll and some of their lo-mein, made with handmade noodles and tons of greens.

Nightcap would be at Inglewood Lounge just down the street. It’s vibey and fun and laid-back, with a big, comfy patio and good music. Plus, they have some of the best late-night food around (the ‘doggy-style’ fries have saved my life more than once).

If we were feeling adventurous enough to go to Wedgewood-Houston the next day, it’s hard to beat Dicey’s Pizza. I could drink ten of their frozen lemon slushes (although would not recommend), and it’s like being back in a 90’s pizzeria, just cooler and with better food. One of my favorite thrifting spots is over this way too, Gas Lamp Antiques. That’s a whole day of entertainment right there. Bonus points if we can find a cursed object.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I will always be grateful for my co-workers and mentors at Flour Bakery, where I really learned how to bake. Joanne, the owner, is not only an incredible pastry chef, but one of the kindest, most thoughtful and dedicated people I’ve ever met.

She knew the name of every single employee (she had over 100 that point, I think), and would greet each of us and check in with us individually all the time. The culture there was just wonderful. We worked really hard (and really fast, dang it was busy), but it never went unnoticed. They embraced every employee from every walk of life, made each of us feel important.

It was life-changing to realize that you can run an extremely successful business and improve people’s lives in the process. I hope to always embody that same sense of care and devotion to the people I work with. Not to mention, I learned a hell of a lot about efficiency and quality control.

And, of course, my husband Joseph. He’s my hype-man. He believes in me even when I don’t. And he’s really engaging and funny, so I could make him work front-of-house.

Website: https://peachbunnybakery.com

Instagram: @peachbunnybakery