Surrounded by family, friends and loyal customers, the owners of Hot Mama’s Pierogies and BeBe Kakes celebrated the opening of their new home at 910 The Shoppes at Adams Ridge on Tuesday evening, marking the end of a seven-month journey filled with renovations and unexpected delays ahead of Wednesday’s public grand opening.
Family members then poured champagne for guests before customers lined up once again for cupcakes, doughnuts and pierogies.
For Amy Dickson and Rebecca Ross, the reopening marked the end of a seven-month journey that included construction delays, unexpected renovation costs and plenty of uncertainty.
“We’ve been in business for six and a half years,” Dickson said. “We’ve been on a seven-month hiatus getting the new location up and running.”
When the businesses closed their longtime Hook Street location at the end of December, the partners expected finding another home would be difficult.
What they didn’t expect was the response from the community.
“We didn’t realize how great people were,” Dickson said. “People kept telling us, ‘You need to get back open. We miss you.’ We still get texts and emails almost every day asking when we’re reopening.”
More than a move
Signing a lease at The Shoppes at Adams Ridge in February was only the beginning.
The former retail space had to be transformed into a commercial kitchen.
That meant architectural drawings, inspections, plumbing work, electrical upgrades, new convection ovens, a grease interceptor, floor drains, larger hot water systems and months of unexpected construction before they could legally bake again.
“It was a lot,” Ross said. “There were so many surprises.”
There were moments they questioned whether they had made the right decision.
“But we signed the lease,” Dickson said. “So we powered through.”
The Dickson FamilyBuilt Together
The new shop may feature pink walls, expanded kitchen space and larger display cases, but the owners say customers won’t see the hundreds of hours of work family members invested behind the scenes.
Dickson’s husband, Travis, helped paint, move equipment and prepare the space alongside their children.
“Me and the kids helped out every chance we got,” he said. “We did a lot of the painting, helped with the floor and moved all this stuff around.”
Asked what he learned about his wife during the seven-month journey, Travis said the experience revealed just how patient she had become.
“She’s very patient. She’s gotten even more patient with the process,” he said.
Kenny laughed when asked the same question about Rebecca.
“She’s a patient woman,” he said. “Yeah, not with me—but with the experience.”
Ross’s husband, Kenny, balanced his full-time job while spending evenings and weekends helping create the bakery’s new kitchen.
“We did what we could ourselves,” he said. “What we couldn’t do, we had to hire people for.”
The financial strain was significant.
“The biggest challenge was the financial impact,” Kenny Ross said. “We went from having two incomes to basically one.”
Lessons for the next generation
The experience also left an impression on the owners’ children.
Olivia Dickson watched her mother build one business from scratch — and then build another.
“I watched her six years ago build it up from the bottom, and now she’s doing it all over again,” Olivia said. “I’ve learned perseverance and just pushing through hard things.”
Phoenix Ross said watching his mother has shaped how he thinks about work and entrepreneurship.
“She teaches me the work ethic and how much you have to put into a business,” he said. “If I want to own one someday, I can always go to her for help.”
Room to Grow
The new location nearly doubles the size of the former bakery, giving the partners room to expand production while staying close to the Mars community that supported them.
Ross hopes the extra kitchen space will allow them to continue growing both businesses while introducing new products over time.
Kenny Ross said customers can also expect the return of Saturday doughnuts, with more than 30 rotating flavors planned, along with new protein treats being developed for customers visiting the neighboring fitness center.
For now, however, both owners say they are simply looking forward to seeing familiar faces again.
“I’m really proud of what we did here,” Dickson said as she looked around the bakery’s pink walls and custom décor. “Even though it took longer than we hoped, we got it done.”
Ross agreed.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “We’re happy to be back, get started and see everybody again.”
The public grand opening is scheduled for Wednesday, July 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 910 The Shoppes at Adams Ridge.
