Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus Freeman.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I got started cooking at home for my family. I always liked to create things and I’ve always loved to eat so a love of cooking came to me at an early age. I started transitioning to baking when I started my first job at the age of 16, as I would bring desserts to work for my coworkers to try, slowly teaching myself different baking techniques. Eventually one of my friends took notice of a cake I made and asked me to make a 4 tiered version for her wedding. Although I was nervous, fortunately it was a success and I soon was getting many requests to do wedding cakes.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One struggle was working out of a rented kitchen. As many people who started/are trying to start a business in the food industry know, to grow you must prepare your food in a commercial kitchen. There aren’t many commercial rental kitchens available so we had to travel over an hour to use one. Also many have a large amount of renters so many times you can only get an open slot at 2am! They are also very expensive and cut deeply into profits but we endured and eventually we were able to get a place of our own 2 years before our goal!
Another goal is the simple act of teaching yourself to cook/bake. It is an absolutely achievable but takes a lot of trial and error and a ton of research but once you start learning and improving it gets better!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Signature Sweets Factory story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a custom gourmet bakery and sandwich cafe! Oppose to most bakeries who only focus on providing a beautiful product, we aim to provide a delicious product that also looks amazing. So many cakes look like art but taste like cardboard and from the beginning we have been against that. Many bakeries use the lowest quality ingredients to increase profits but we use many high quality ingredients such as real Vanilla Beans, European Butter, and Belgian Cocoa to make sure we are giving our customers the best tasting product possible.
As far as our sandwiches everything is made fresh in house! We bake the bread for the sandwiches fresh daily and many meats are slow roasted in house. Everything we serve we put immense care into.
One big thing I am proud of is our customer service! It is a company policy to treat every person who walks our door like family! I have always appreciated that a customer has a ton of options so I should be grateful they choice my business to spend their money at. I am happy that most of our reviews online make mention of a high level of customer service, and I contribute to brain storm with my team on ways we can offer ever better service!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Like many know and many can imagine opening a business has its ups and downs and can be difficult especially when you are hit with something unexpected. But I am happy that I have an amazing support system thru my entire family. My parents both have managerial experience and that has been a great help in running the business outside of baking.
Pricing:
- Kick Back Cupcakes $1.75
- Signature Cupcakes $3.25
- Sweet Potato Pie Cinnamon Rolls $3.39
- Fried Banana Pudding $3.50
- Cuban Croissant Panini $6
- Cordon Bleu Croissant Panini $6
- Homemade Ice Cream $3.25
- Tahitian Breeze Smoothie $4.99
Contact Info:
- Address: 514 E. 162nd St., South Holland IL
- Website: signaturesweetsfactory.com
- Phone: 7083943580
- Email: info@signaturesweetsfactory.com
- Instagram: https://m.facebook.com/Signature-Sweets-Factory-Bakery-Cafe-1652175805049847/
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/1034687092/signature-sweets-factory/
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
