We recently connected with Amy Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In June 2020, a Brewery opened downtown in my small hometown of New Kensington. My hometown has faced significant economic challenges in recent decades, mostly due to the decline of its once industrial base. Hence, amid the Covid Pandemic, as well as the excitement of a new business of any type opening in the “ghost town” downtown, my family and I gleefully went down to support the new Brewery’s efforts. As I was sitting & relaxing in the Brewery’s outdoor Beer Garden, I was looking at all the dark & empty storefronts and remembering as a little girl, these same streets & sidewalks filled with shoppers, energy, and life. I was able to chat with the owner of the new brewery, who was on a mission to help revitalize our downtown. He had bought over thirty of the empty, dilapidated buildings and was overhauling them all to be able to start a revitalization revolution. He was offering a low rent option and inviting entrepreneurs and their businesses to make downtown New Kensington their new storefront home.
That is when my idea for Sweet Tillies erupted. My mother and grandmother taught me how to make traditional baklava when I was young, and I always loved the smell of the clarified butter and the sizzle of the sugar syrup hitting the hot tray out of the oven. I recognized that the Baklava sold commercially did not live up to my family’s recipe and that no one had ever tried incorporating New & Exciting Flavors into Baklava. I just knew I could keep the integrity of our family recipe and incorporate fabulous flavors into baklava and make it a delectable gift.
Having Burnout at my corporate job, combined with the excitement of wanting to be part of the solution to help revitalize my downtown, I left my corporate job in Dec 2020 and Opened Sweet Tillies to help create a “New” New Kensington.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi I am Amy Johnson , Owner of SWEET TILLIES – A small, family owned & operated Baklava Specialty Bakery based in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. My hometown of New Kensington was starting a revitalization and I wanted to take a chance at putting all my loves and talents to use under one roof and be a part of the solution of the revitalization efforts. Working in healthcare for over 25 years; having parents that owned their own businesses in their careers, as well as , having a super supportive husband, I felt equipped with the inspiration, work ethic, creativity, and business basics that would be needed to take this detour in my career and life.
Sweet Tillies offers Six Signature Flavors of Baklava in our brick & mortar bakery shop, along with shipping our elegant baklava gift boxes nationwide. It is a unique, delicious and elegant gift for many occasions.
Sweet Tillies is popular locally at weddings, graduations, business events and mostly at gift giving time during the holiday season.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience Definition: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties: the ability to adjust to change. Sweet Tillies is based in a storefront, in our newly revitalized downtown portion of my hometown. As I mentioned earlier, an entrepreneur bought over 30+ bldgs in the downtown area and renovated them in efforts to bring new businesses to the area, as well as, offering them low rent options. Coming into my 5th year of business, I’ve seen a handful of the new businesses that started with me, fail and move out. Due to open storefronts for my landlord, there are now 5 bakeries within my block, including a new ice cream shop/candy store next door to me. With the onset of all the New Sweet options in town, I was very worried that the walking traffic volume coming to Sweet Tillies would decrease. The Walking Traffic downtown, is one of the main variables that all of the businesses downtown are trying to focus on to Increase.
With this new worry, I executed a few thoughts. I decided to re-focus on my original idea of my online audience and I invested in a magazine ad that reaches my target audience. I also started collaborating more often with both the local bakeries, as well as, other businesses for special events. We created a “Sugar & Suds” Valentines Event with a local brewery that was very successful and helped each bakery have new followers from one another. I also partnered with Iron City Distillery , with a Whisky & Baklava Pairing Event that was Fantastic. Luckily, all 5 bakeries are unique and different in their products, as well as, their revenue streams. I’ve also gained 3 great friends in the meantime.

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

Sweet Tillies has multiple revenue streams. We have our Brick & mortar walk in shop revenue. Our Website and Online Sales & Shipping Revenue, Our Gift Card Purchasing revenue, our Event & Pop Up Revenue, Wholesale Revenue from coffee shops and restaurants, as well as, collaboration events with other businesses.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Sweettillies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweettillies/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweettillies.com

Image Credits
Snowflake Photography