Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon O’Polka & Trisha Johnson
Hi Shannon and Trisha, it’s an honor to have you both on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
We are a dynamic duo! My best friend of 30 years, Trisha Johnson, and I started our business in June 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. We started our gluten-free bakery because we realized there is a huge gap in the market for quality & tasty gluten free baked goods. My daughter was diagnosed with Celiac about 15 years ago, and unfortunately at that time, her options were either “bunny food” as she calls it, or just dry and tasteless treats. So, we decided to throw caution to the wind and started selling our delicious baked goods we’ve been making for years, at a few local farmers markets. We have had a lot of success at Glade Parks Farmers Market on the Plaza in Euless, TX, where we have a loyal following, as well as the Keller’s Farmers Market in Keller, TX.
We recently started selling our popular whoopie cookies and cookie bars from a Cloud Retail location in Ft Worth at 3004 Cullen St., and just expanded to another Cloud Retail location in Dallas located at 921 W Commerce St., where you can pick up our treats, or order for delivery from both places on the popular food delivery platforms. Our newest spot is a commissary store in Keller, called Keller Trading Company at 121 Olive St. We also have a dot.com, thedabsbakery.com, where items like cakes, muffins, cup cakes, pies, and more can be made to order for anyone in the DFW Metroplex. It has been a real adventure and we tell ourselves all the time that we wish we would have started this 10 years ago when we were in our 40s, however, we are making it happen in our 50s!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We really have only had a few bumps along the way, but the biggest has been the pandemic. Otherwise, our road has been fairly smooth. The hardest part is deciding what to bring to markets. We both like to have options, so we like to offer a variety of products, which means a lot of baking and preparation throughout the week to ensure our customers have something fresh that we know they will enjoy. We also started accepting orders for custom-decorated cakes for weddings, baby showers, birthdays, and other events. We said no to cakes for years as we did not have any formal training. Thanks to YouTube, we have learned a lot of wonderful techniques and have started making amazing cakes for our customers.
We’ve been impressed with The Dabs Bakery, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in delicious, beautiful gluten-free baked goods and we use lots of organic, premium quality ingredients. We are extremely picky about what we produce and expect nothing less than delicious. Our ultimate goal is to hear, “Wow, that was gluten-free?”. That is music to our ears, and we hear it often! Our customers love our baked goods, and some of them don’t even have to eat gluten-free!
We would happily recommend many of our items: Muffins, cookies, cookie bars, cakes and cupcakes, pies, scones, seasoned pretzels, and many more. By the way, our pie dough is out of this world! If we had to choose our favorites, we would say our mini-pecan tarts or our sprinkle whoopie cookie, filled with our decadent marshmallow buttercream.. delicious!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Trisha: I’m one of 4 girls, loved to be outdoors with my many cousins, I loved playing softball, and have always enjoyed helping in the kitchen. I can remember standing in a chair at the stove or sink helping my grandmother prepare meals, canning vegetables from her garden, and just enjoying the amazing smells of the wonderful meals being prepared. I have always been chatty… as I like to say, I’ve got the gift of gab.
Shannon: I came from a tight-knit family with my cousins. We grew up like brothers and sisters. As the oldest, I would say I was responsible as I was usually in charge. Even at a young age, I had a love for food. I attribute that to my grandmother. She was an excellent cook, and she taught me all she knew while I sat on her counter measuring and stirring. we said to
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thedabsbakery.com
- Instagram: thedabsbakery
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/102668588154094/
Image Credits
The Dabs Bakery
