Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, cookies & cream, lemon sugar, strawberry cheesecake —you name it, Bebe’s Bake Shoppe probably has that cookie.
It boasts 18 in-house flavors, and trades out different ones weekly to satisfy a cookie lover’s cravings.
“There has been a strict learning curve because coming into it as a first time entrepreneur I didn’t know a lot and have all the information I thought I needed,” she said. “If you’re willing to take the good and the bad and continue to pursue your dream, it’s worth it.”
Bebe’s Bake Shoppe owner Amber Tomlin transformed the 1,080 square foot space, which housed a Great Clips, into a sweet tooth’s paradise. The “flip” wasn’t easy nor inexpensive, costing her nearly $90,000.
“We had to open walls up for plumbing, get a three-compartment sink, knock panels down for lights, buy counters, and prep tables. The place was navy blue and olive green before, and the floors were concrete,” she said of the exhaustive reconfiguration.
Located at 1144 Shackleford Road in Florissant, the bakery now features bubblegum pink and white walls with multicolor pastel sprinkle art. The “wow factor” also includes chandeliers, and a ‘Hey Sweet Thing’ cursive sign above the counter and register area.
Tomlin began a location search in November 2021. She found the business’s future home in January 2022. She opened her doors and ovens on October 1, 2022.
Tomlin says she’s been able to pay her team, the bakery bills and meet daily sales goals. However, the journey was not always so smooth.
She admits she overstaffed in the bakery’s early weeks, causing her to put more money in payroll than expected. Other business expenses were coming out of her pocket.
“There has been a strict learning curve because coming into it as a first time entrepreneur I didn’t know a lot and I didn’t have all the information I thought I needed,” she said. “If you’re willing to take the good and the bad and continue to pursue your dream, it’s worth it”.
She also learned to listen to her customers. She was hesitant to bring back cake items after discontinuing them, but her customers’ zeal for cake pops won the day.
“Don’t be stuck in your ways. When you develop a working relationship with the customer then they start to become almost like family from coming in often,” she said.
Tomlin also serves customers with dietary restrictions and food allergies. Macaroons are available for people who are gluten intolerant and vegan chocolate chips are offered.
Breakfast cookies are “being tested,” she says, and blueberry muffin cookies are currently available. She’s testing an espresso chocolate chip cookie, French toast cookie, and cinnamon roll cookie.
Six different ice cream flavors, including caramel apple pie and a hot chocolate ice cream waffle bowl, are available.
Tomlin was introduced to baking in 2013 when she and her husband moved to New Mexico for his job. After getting acquainted with women in their church, she was asked to help put together gift baskets. Tomlin was given the task to help bake cherry tart pastries.
The treats were passed out, and that following Sunday she said recipients appreciated the gifts and were impressed with the tarts.
The success motivated Tomlin to continue making tarts. Once her husband’s contract expired, the couple moved back to St. Louis. She enrolled in St. Louis Community College-Forest Park’s culinary program in 2016 and graduated in 2018. She also watched a lot of YouTube videos to help as well.
After graduating, she was baking cakes, cookies and more and selling them independently.
Her business boomed rather than busted during the pandemic because she was at home and a lot of people needed sweets for birthday parties and drive-by socially distanced gatherings.
Before Bebe’s opened she did the custom orders from home and worked in two shops supplying them with custom cookie orders.
“I decided to step out on faith and open my own storefront,” Tomlin said. “I wanted the shop to be in Florissant because I live in Florissant and wanted to give back to the community that supported me when I worked from home.”
Bebe’s makes custom treats for various occasions: birthday parties, bachelorette parties, bridal showers, retirement parties, and more. They’ve even made treats for Congresswoman Cori Bush’s birthday before.
“We take a lot of pride in what we do. We have a lot of love for baking,” Tomlin said. “We ask customers to come out and give us a try. We promise we will not leave you dissatisfied.”
Bebe’s is open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Guests interested in custom orders can visit the website https://www.bebesbakeshoppe.com/ and fill out an order form, call 314-222-8555, email bakeitbetterstl@gmail.com or visit the shop in person.
