THE BAKER BEHIND THE CHEESECAKE

Teresa Sharpe

I am a 3rd generation baker and Manchester native.  Manchester Cheesecake Co. started with a dream…or maybe with a challenge.

In 2016 my boyfriend challenged me to make a cheesecake and I quickly became obsessed with making the perfect cheesecake. At that time I was bartending, and my guests became my taste testers. My regular guests started asking me to bake them a cheesecake for their special occasions. As time went on, I started selling the cheesecakes for holidays and the word started spreading and creations were flowing.

In 2018 I lost my boyfriend in a tragic motorcycle accident. I allowed the accident to take away things I had loved my whole life. I struggled to find any joy in life, including baking cheesecakes.

In 2020, the world changed. Like so many affected by Covid, I lost my job and had to make some big decisions for my family and my future. Being a single mom who spent the last few years in an office setting, I knew I could not sit behind a desk any longer. The hectic schedule and 9-5 grind was taking a toll on me. I wasn’t living life, I was more like a zombie in a cruel world.

So, when COVID shut a door, I decided to open a window. I was ready to take back control of my life. I was going to find a job doing something that I absolutely loved, something that would make me happy and proud. I decided that I was going to open a bakery and sell my cheesecakes. I knew my cheesecakes were special, unlike any other cheesecakes out there, so I took a leap of faith and bet on myself. 

I spent months preparing a business plan, getting quotes and cleaning out the space where I planned to build a kitchen. I was ready to take on the world, until I was told that banks were not giving new business loans to food-based businesses because of Covid. I was not taking a no for an answer, I was opening a shop and nothing could stop me.

If I couldn’t build a kitchen, I would find an alternative. I continued working hard on my store front and found Click, a non-profit where I could rent kitchen space. I got to work getting all the licenses and filing all the paperwork. Click staff had never seen someone get it all done so quick! After all, I was determined to start the business. There was no stopping me.

For over a year I would bake at Click and then transport cheesecakes to my shop. In 2022 I found a kitchen closer to my shop but baking off-site was still not ideal. As the business grew, I found myself split between baking, transporting, working fairs and farmer’s markets, creating wholesale partnerships, and running my storefront. I was spreading myself too thin and I needed to refocus. With a sad heart I closed my storefront and began focusing on expanding my wholesale business.

Now that I have steady business coming in from the wholesale accounts, I would like to have the shop that I always imagined. One space where I can both bake and sell my cheesecakes. A place where I can be present, and catch up with my loyal customers.

More than that, I dream of a place where I can support other local makers and entrepreneurs whose dreams are as big as mine are.

I’m Teresa, and I’m committed to my dream of bringing the best cheesecake to the best customers in Connecticut.

With your help, I’ll get to do what I love – spread smiles with a side of cheesecake in this tough but beautiful world.