Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madison Blake And Ashlea O’Connor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Madison Blake, thanks for joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

In January of 2022, Maddie was stuck in Nashville because her flight had been cancelled to come back to Florida due to a ton of unusual snow storms. Ashlea and Maddie had always talked about how cool it would be to partner with the local NHL team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, so Maddie decided to send them an email. She figured she may as well give it a try since she was stuck in a hotel room anyway… Maddie and Ashlea expected absolutely nothing back from them and if by chance they did get a reply, it would be months before then.

They were wrong. The head chef at Amalie Arena replied to their inquiry the very next day! He asked Maddie and Ashlea to come in to meet the team and bring a few samples for everyone to try. Fast forward to April of 2022, three months later, and Baked in the Burg was delivering its first order to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Amalie Arena and the TB Lightning would then go on to partner with Baked in the Burg for the remainder of that hockey season with preparations to be a preferred vendor during the regular 2022-2023 season.

It was such a crazy experience for Baked in the Burg because it was all by chance. It was a true story of manifesting your wants from talking about them out loud to sending emails and then becoming a vendor of Amalie Arena and the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a real life fairytale.

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

Baked in the Burg is owned and operated by Maddie Blake and Ashlea O’Connor, both Tampa Bay natives. Ashlea was a wholesale client of Maddie’s before they came together and created Baked in the Burg.

Before Baked in the Burg, Ashlea worked for Bonefish’s marketing department and has a background in food styling. Maddie was an aerospace cost analyst. Both of them decided they wanted to pursue baking full time and jumped in together. It was something they each enjoyed and thought it was time to turn their hobby into a business.

Baked in the Burg is known for its deep dish cookies but can also cater to their customers other needs. They can create custom cakes and cupcakes, cake pops, a variety of bars and even dessert grazing tables.

They are so different from most bakeries around because they cater to the individual. Maddie and Ashlea realize that it’s not a one size fits all industry and want to make everyone feel special.

At Baked in the Burg, they are so proud of the community feel they have created and want everyone to know they are welcome! Baked in the Burg wants to create a sweet and lasting memory for each and every customer!

How’d you meet your business partner?

How Ashlea and Maddie met is really unusual! They didn’t know each other before starting Baked in the Burg, weren’t family or friends and definitely did not work together in their past jobs.

Maddie had started a small, wholesale and special order bakery and Ashlea quickly because a retailer of hers. Ashlea had a cookie retail location but wanted to add something like brownies… and Maddie was just the person for the job.

After a few weeks or ordering, Maddie and Ashlea starting talking about how amazing having their own brick and mortar one day would be but always came back to the realization that it is expensive and very hard to do alone.

Then the lightbulb went off and they decided to do it together. About a month later, Baked in the Burg was born.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

A major pivot in Baked in the Burg’s life was when owners Ashlea and Maddie realized they didn’t want to have a full-time retail location anymore.

Their building wasn’t getting as much foot traffic as they had hoped for when they signed the lease and the wholesale clients kept coming in.

The natural instinct was to do everything; have a commissary kitchen, a retail store, ship orders online, be a wholesale bakery and a special events bakery. It was not realistic and was incredibly draining to them both.

They decided to make the jump into being a full-time wholesale and special order bakery and close the retail side of things. They decided to open the shop once a month to the public for a few hours but otherwise be closed.

It was a huge decision but they’ve been incredibly happy since then!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://baked-in-the-burg.square.site/
• Instagram: @bakedintheburg https://www.instagram.com/bakedintheburg/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bakedintheburg/
• Other: https://www.goldbelly.com/baked-in-the-burg

Image Credits
Michael Richer Photography