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Hambrick serves through sweet side hustle BY MADELINE MARTIN Staff Writer
On the cover: Snickerdoodle cupcakes are one of G & G’s holiday flavor options. (photo courtesy of Gracen Hambrick) On this page: Hambrick poses with her mother, the other half of G & G’s Bake Shop. (photo courtesy of Gracen Hambrick)
Becoming a baker was never the plan for Gracen Hambrick. However, making a few cakes here and there during the summer blossomed into an official motherdaughter business. Gracen Hambrick, a junior biology major from Des Arc, Ark., started baking with her mother when their pastor asked them to make a cake for a wedding. The two had made cakes from boxed mixes before, but they had never attempted one from scratch. The task proved daunting, and Hambrick swore she would never bake again. “I hated it and said I would never touch another cake in my life,” Hambrick said. Fast forward a couple of years, and a family friend asked the pair to bake another cake for an anniversary celebration of around 250 people. Hambrick and her mother agreed. Word spread, and soon other friends, church members and locals wanted them to bake goods for their events. This interest was overwhelming at first and they had to turn down a lot of requests. It seemed intimidating. The pair had never baked for people other than their family and close friends. It was not a serious business at the time. Hambrick did not think that they could handle it all. In the summer of 2019, Hamrbick and her mother got so many requests that they decided to roll with it and see where it went. That busy summer of baking produced G & G’s Bake Shop. Now almost two years old, the shop is named after its bakers: Gracen and Garri Lynn. Both Hambrick and her mother work part-time, and the two rely
on each other to complete the orders. They each have their own skill set that benefits the business. While her mother does most of the baking, Hambrick focuses on decoration. The bake shop operates out of the Hambrick home. They make sweets for weddings, birthdays, church events and other special celebrations. Their menu includes cakes, cupcakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls and breads. Customers can order from the items listed on the business’s Facebook page or they can reach out to Hambrick to place a custom order. G & G’s started out locally, but now they have customers from outside of Des Arc. Some Little Rock citizens even choose G & G over bakeries closer to them. Hambrick and her mother update customers through G & G’s Facebook page, and they get people excited by occasionally hosting giveaways. While the shop is open all year, Hambrick and her mother only work part-time while Hambrick is at school. She sometimes goes home on the weekends to help fulfill orders. Orders were more sporadic than normal at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, G & G’s business picked back up over the summer of 2020. In fact, Hambrick stayed busy over winter break and baked almost daily. This included a five-tier wedding cake and many holiday sweets. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, G & G’s offers special menus that include several different flavors for their cakes, cupcakes and cookies. Thanksgiving flavors include pumpkin spice, italian cream, salted caramel and caramel apple. For Christmas, they offer snickerdoodle, hot chocolate and gingerbread. For Hambrick, baking serves
as a way to give back during the busy holiday season. After facing the COVID-19 pandemic, baking treats for her customers was more meaningful than in past years. Since the holidays can be hectic for a majority of people, the bake shop sees an uptick in business during this season. 2020 was no exception to this, and Hambrick enjoyed being able to relieve some of the holiday stress by filling orders from her customers. “It’s less that they have to do,” Hambrick said. “They just place the order, and I tell them when it’s ready. I can deliver it if they’re local or even meet them.” In the new year, Hambrick hopes to grow the business and improve upon her craft. The duo has already updated the shop’s logo and branding in an effort to change things in 2021. Hambrick also wants to continue working on her decorating skills. Throughout the year, the business proves to be rewarding for Hambrick. But one of the things that she’s most proud of is being a completely self-taught baker. Hambrick feels that she has accomplished something she once thought she could never do. Her skills have improved, and she is now more adventurous when decorating sweets. “To me, that shows that I put time in it and put effort [in it], and it just shows my hard work,” Hambrick said. However, pleasing G & G’s customers has proven to be the greatest reward for Hambrick. She loves to bake, and seeing the reactions of customers when they receive their orders makes the business worth it. She enjoys hearing feedback, getting sweet messages and making people happy with her creations. “Their satisfaction is my number one priority,” Hambrick said.
