Meet some unsung heroes of Mardi Gras From costumes and balls to king cakes and parades, there’s a lot that goes into a successful Carnival season. The floats and royalty may be front and center, but plenty of hard work occurs before the pageantry. Meet a few of the crucial experts who make Mardi Gras happen behind the scenes.
SHERRI PAUL THIGPEN OWNER, PAUL'S PASTRY SHOP Throughout the year, Paul's Pastry Shop is a full-service café and wholesale bakery. During Mardi Gras, the Picayune store provides all the essential Carnival sweets, including cookies, assorted desserts and its signature king cakes. “We also wholesale our king cakes to approximately 40 other retail businesses in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana during the Mardi Gras Season,” says owner Sherri Paul Thigpen. She notes that Paul’s is known as the "home of the original fruit-and-creamcheese-filled king cakes," as it was the first bakery to produce this treat. During Mardi Gras season each year, which starts Jan. 6 and continues to the day before Ash Wednesday, the shop produces 70,000 - 75,000 king cakes. “We employ two work crews: one night crew that bakes the king cakes and one day crew that finishes and packages,” Thigpen says. “We also ship about 3,500 king cakes to all 50 states.” Thigpen was 13 years old in 1970 when her parents, Shirley and Harry Paul, founded the business in an 800 square-foot building, and they began making their signature king cakes with a twist two years later. After buying the business from them in 1988, Thigpen
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January 2023
Robert and Sherri (Paul) Thigpen and Laci and Clay Brunson
expanded into a 5,000 square-foot building, and in 2006, Paul’s expanded again into a 10,000 square-foot space in Top of the Hill shopping center. Thigpen’s daughter, Laci Brunson, is now a co-owner, and Laci’s husband and sons now work with the business, too — starting the fourth generation of Paul's Pastry Shop. With its staff of 25 dedicated employees, the shop is set to provide
Carnival goodies for years to come. “Paul's Pastry Shop looks forward to Mardi Gras season every year,” Thigpen says. “It is challenging, and at the same time very exciting for all of us. … We are very proud to offer one of the largest varieties of king cake flavors in the nation.”