We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anastasia Thompson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Anastasia, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

Sure, I’d like to be remembered for the one who opened a successful cake shop. Who became known in her community for delicious cakes, and amazing artistic desserts. Who did orders for police stations, hospitals and big companies. However, what I’d really love to be remembered for is the girl who had so many odds stacked against her and she never gave up.

I didn’t come from a wealthy family. I experienced great loss, and have endured unimaginable pain and extremely dark moments that at times I didn’t think I would make it through. If I’m being completely honest, I have been mere seconds away from giving up.

Every day, when I wake up, I make a conscious effort to get up and be my best. Being a mother, a partner, a business owner, stranger, and every relationship in between.

I have spent my last to be of service to a stranger. I have done last minute orders for people who have had loved ones pass, no money for birthdays, and even children with terminal illnesses through a beautiful foundation I am apart of. I’ve had customers sit and talk with me about good news, bad news, and news they haven’t shared yet with anyone. I have been able to be an ear to those who needed to be heard. Hugs to those who needed love, and a promise to those who needed secrets kept.

I say all of that to say this, I want to be remembered for being me. Not what I have, not what I have built, not my business, not my brand, just simply me. My heart, my selflessness, and my light.

My shop is just the vessel in which I get to share my love.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am the owner and operator of a cake shop. This Momma Cooks And Co!
We provide custom cakes, sweet treats and small savory bites to our community.

Since I was little girl I had a love for food. I knew at a young age I’d be opening some sort of bakery or bistro. So because I knew that so young, I made sure every job I had was one that could teach me something that I could utilize when my dreams came true.

I am self taught, so I can’t sit here and say I have a *inserts elaborate degree in culinary arts* here. However, I was determined! I have notebooks of recipes, business plans, menus and everything in between.

One day, I drove past my shop. A red for rent signed hung in the window, and I just knew that day was it. I was ready to jump!

Everyday I try to perfect my craft. Creating beautiful one of a kind cakes and beautiful desserts. We do offer classes in our shop. As well as at home services and we show up at local events when we came squeeze them in!

I am proud of what I’ve built. I’ve that my 3 children have been able to see their mom create something from nothing. Seeing me persevere through great challenges and never give up. I am also grateful for the awesome relationships that have been built with some of my amazing customers.

I have been so blessed.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think who we are play a big part of building a reputable platform.

I have always treated every customer like family. I strive to build connections and relationships with as many as I can. I feel like being able to connect with our customers and being authentic creates a trusting space and an inviting environment that essentially keeps my customers coming back.

If we’re talking product though, consistency is key. Making sure it’s just as delicious as it did the last time. Using great ingredients and putting a lot of love into it!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

We are a covid business! Meaning, we opened up right before covid and had to endure complete chaos. Not only were we trying to withstand our personal responsibilities, I had all of my businesses as well. We hit rock bottom financially. At that point we were new and had no business credit or received little to no help from our government like so many other places. So, I did whatever I could to stay open. We did a lot of drive up orders. Smaller of course, because no one was having parties. I did tons of donations to hospitals in the midst of this as well and tried to keep hope alive. There were periods where we kind of sat stagnet waiting for new rules and so on.

I made it through because I wasn’t willing to quit. I prayed for this my whole life, I wasn’t going to let it go that easy.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anastasia_727?igsh=bHRnZW92OXlycjlx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1984UgpoG9/
• Yelp: Thismommacooksandco
• Other: Tiktok
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  https://www.tiktok.com/@thismommacooksandcollc?_t=ZP-8vHoWfEc8cw&_r=1