Episode 1: Joey Crocker / Cheesecake Daddy's

In this episode, we sit down with the Cheesecake Daddy himself, Joey Crocker. We cover a little bit of everything from delivering cheesecakes to a mother in labor, to how the whole Cheesecake Daddy thing got started. But most importantly, we talk about Joey’s unwavering faith in Christ and the role it plays in his life.

It’s a conversation full of laughs, unexpected stories, and a genuine look at the man behind the cheesecake.

Order your very own Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Daddy himself here: https://www.cheesecakedaddys.com/

Stay up to date with everything we’re doing by following us on social @heycartersville and check out all our cool merch at www.heycartersville.co.

Stay up to date with everything we’re doing by following us on social @heycartersville and check out all our cool merch at www.heycartersville.co.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Welcome to the Two Local Podcast, brought to you by Hey Cartersville, where we highlight the people behind the things you know and love in Bartow County and the surrounding areas. Today we are with Mr. Cheesecake Daddy himself, Joey Crocker. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Uh I make cheesecakes. Uh no. Um I have a passion and a love and maybe a very uh addiction to cheesecakes and how you make them and what kind of flavors you can have. And it's a a very good addiction to have sometimes. I, you know, you can ask my wife. I maybe sometimes it's too much.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

That's okay. So we found your cheesecakes at Fornigiar Pizza and we filmed a food review. When you saw that video, how did that make you feel?

SPEAKER_01 0:57

I was like, holy shamole. Um it I never thought that the whole video with you guys and and tasting the cheesecakes, and you know, it was funny. Your husband went back in there and asked them who it was, and they're like, you know, some places are like, uh, yeah, we just local baker, but they mentioned who it was. And then you guys, I watched the video of how you really enjoyed it, and you know, that that was the payout for me. I and and if I could do cheesecakes every single day, which I will eventually get there, but uh I I would do it. It's just it is a passion, it's not even a hobby, it's a passion that I love to do. And it's nice to see how people react to a very, I feel like a very good product.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Absolutely. Yeah. And something that my husband said whenever we were texting you for the first time to connect, you told him that Cheesecake Daddy started from a bet.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Cheesecake daddy started from a bet. Yes. I I'm not this, you know, I've been doing it over 20 years, but uh about a year and a half, two years ago, but my wife can help me on this, is that uh that's when I got my license. I have, you know, for me, I have to have a special license. I can't get a college license because I have dairy in my product. So I have an AGS license that I got, but we never done cheesecakes in my life. Now, when I was younger, I watched my grandmother do it, you know, not cheesecakes, but she would bake. And, you know, I guess that rubbed off on me. And when we uh when I got older, never thought about it, we're at a family function. Her cousin, she made cheesecakes, she didn't sell them, but she made them. And uh we were sitting there tasting them. I said, it's good. And I I hope I get this right. My wife always corrects me on this, which is a good thing. But, you know, I think the end result was, you know, hey, if you uh, you know, if you can do better, and I'm like, you know, I think I could do better on this cheesecake. I mean, not in a bad way, she is a wonderful person, and I guess I gotta give her credit for even because with that it sparked me to start doing it. And then here and there people were like, Wow, these are really good. You should maybe do something with it. And and here and there I I started making cheesecakes for family members and and other people.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

The cheesecake is such a niche dessert. I've never even made a cheesecake. So, how did you go about learning how to build a cheesecake?

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

What resources did you watch shows?

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Well, I used I I still do. I love Paula Dean. And Paula Dean, I said and uh to my wife, I said, not that I wish, but if anything ever happened to her, I would seek her out and see if I could marry her. Oh so thankfully, 24 years we're still together and I don't have to worry about that. But um it's um I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

It's I mean, like even building, like I how did you find like the bases, like like the ratio of like cream cheese to sugar to I don't even know how to build the cheesecake like foundationally, how did you get there?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Here's the thing with it that with me and the cheesecakes, I took the philosophy of my grandmother, and my grandmother could bake a cake and she could sit here and talk to you and throw the ingredients in, and it would turn out the same every time.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

And and my wife says that too. It's crazy because you need to measure it, you need to know, and she is correct.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Yeah, and they say baking's a science. I mean, we watch those pre-British bake-offs and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

But it is a science because if you don't put the right amount of ingredients in, it you know, and I've had my faults like with crust, you know, to making sure the crust is the way it needs to be. And it it's good to have uh, you know, somebody that, you know, she gets to taste everything. So she's like, yeah, and she's a crust girl, my wife is, so you know, with her, and it's still work in progress. It doesn't always turn out the way it should be, but you know, I did. I watched the TV shows. I'm a big food network fanatic, so yeah, uh Elton Brown and stuff like that, and he would break down the whole cheesecakes and how many you need and all that stuff. So that's what kind of the basis of how I did things was just kind of looking at things, researching it. And then it was just error by trial.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

So you've been making cheesecakes for what'd your wife say, like 20 years?

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Over 20, yeah, over 20 years.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Okay. And you've just been doing this like for family and friends and things like that. So when did it become more of getting your license and the business side of it? How long have you been doing that part?

SPEAKER_01 5:53

That it's been about two years uh that okay, and I figured out what I needed, and I work out of a shared kit I work out of a shared kitchen at Jake's Produce. And Lisa, the owner of it there, she has been helpful about hey, this is what you need to be able to get in the kitchen. And then with the ag department, uh actually talking to the supervisor there, they they were very helpful in what I needed.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Does knowing the cottage laws and the different I know you don't have a cottage license, what is it called again?

SPEAKER_01 6:25

It's a mine's an ag license.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

An ag license, okay. Does knowing all those things when you see these other home bakers and uh farm stands and things pop up, does that make you I don't want to say judgmental, but does it make you worry that things aren't going to be?

SPEAKER_01 6:43

I mean the the the the the voice in the back of your head says, well, that's not fair. But also, just like me, in the beginning, I had my moment where I didn't understand it, and and it took trial, you know, trial and error for me to understand this is what I need to be able to make sure it's legal and this and that. And the way that sometimes that the laws are, they don't always make it easy for somebody like me that's a baker to understand it. Um but I don't I don't wish anything bad. It's just you know, but at the same time, you're like, you know, I'm working my tail out trying to do this. Yeah. And you know, you know this and and my wife and other people is when you get on Facebook, you're like, okay, they're doing this and that. Uh so how are they getting away with it?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Exactly. You know, and I'm you know, I yeah, I've of course, since I review lots of bakers in town, obviously starting from you, because people are wanting to send me their baked goods. One of the first things that I ask is like, are you following cottage laws? Because I'm not about to have people blast me online for promoting you, and I don't want you to get drug online and you to get in trouble either. And so I think that's something that I think that home bakers should be aware of. And what are the main types of things to keep in mind? Like cookies versus cheesecakes are obviously different because of the storage. Um, but what are the simple things that people need to follow law-wise if they're going to start their own home baking business?

SPEAKER_01 8:13

I mean, just you get the information, understand what you need to even start what you gotta have. Yeah. Uh, because I didn't. And you know, um, it it it kind of bit me a little bit, you know, but I also learned from that.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

But, you know, understand, you know, what kind of kitchen can you be in. Um you know, for the products that you have, you know, you gotta make sure that you have your stickers that has allergic, you know, things that people are allergic. Yeah, to make sure you have all that stuff online. And all it is is a simple thing, like for me, even with the ag department, if you call, just they can give you the information. It's a step-by-step of what you can do.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

Well, where do you find that information? Like, what do you Google online?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

I know for me, uh, it's you go to the department uh of ag okay, and they have they have it broke down in different things you you do. Like for me, like if I do wholesale or if I do retail, you gotta think about that too. There's a certain license with my ags license that I have to have within it that you know make sure that either I'm a retailer or a wholesale. Yes. And I have to say, I mean, you know, with the two restaurants I have, and and I'll go ahead and say it here that I have a third one that we're working with.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Exciting.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Yeah, and it's G's Grill in uh Calhoun, and and we're still in the process of sitting now talking with them. And to make sure, the biggest thing is to make sure you have your paperwork in order. Perfect. I have a binder that my wife keeps that has made for me, and it has your surf safe or safe serve or whatever that you have to have. That it has my business license, it has my eggs license, it has my uh state tax number in it, and all that stuff that I have to have. So exactly. So if anybody asks, then I'm like, boom, it's right there.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

It's there. Awesome, perfect. Well, you actually work a full-time job that is not cheesecake. What does your work week look like?

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Uh my work week starts at Monday morning at 3 30 in the morning. Yikes and it ends at 6 30, sometimes a little bit earlier. Yeah. So about 13 hours, three days a week.

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Okay, okay. Kind of like nurses do. Yeah, cracking. I guess you can't.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Yeah, I don't have any bank hours, so I wish I did. That'd be nice, but I don't.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

My goodness. Wow. And so you'd have three days a week that you're working, and so when do you make your cheesecakes? When do you go up to Jake's?

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Yeah, it would be on Thursdays when I would go in. You know, I had to have to set a schedule of when I go in to the kitchen and stuff like that. Do the cheesecakes there.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

And uh how long does it normally take you to prep for all these cheesecakes? I mean, how long are you there at Jake's?

SPEAKER_01 11:07

I mean, it's the good thing is is that it's maybe an hour and a half or whatever, because uh to bake them, I mean, it takes about that long. And then the good thing is wrap them up and I can take them home to let them cool. Perfect. And then like to cut them and stuff, I can do that there. Okay. It's the baking part and getting it, yeah. Okay, perfect because it's no uh contamination and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Yeah, I ever since I had babies when I was pregnant, I was super careful about food storage and guidelines, and I'm like super anxious about being at a party and things that have dairy in them or laid out all day. Like, and so I'm sure that that's something that you think about all the time with your cakes and the transport.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

So when you're transporting them, do you have like a cooler that you keep them in?

SPEAKER_01 11:54

I have uh electrical refrigerated coolers.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Yeah, that's even better.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Wow, okay. And so you have you been to any festivals or things like that, or how how does that work with cheesecake?

SPEAKER_01 12:07

I you know, the I think the biggest one I've been to is uh the Pine Log Arts and Crafts Fair.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Where's that one at?

SPEAKER_01 12:14

That's at Pine Log Church.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Uh it's in Rada.

SPEAKER_00 12:17

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Um and it's every September, I can't remember the day it's my wife can 12th through something. Yes, it's weekend after Labor Day, and I'm always set up there. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Is that like foods and crafts or just food?

SPEAKER_01 12:34

It's a lot more crafts than it is food. The uh church actually does barbecue there and stuff, but I think it's I'm usually the only one. There's maybe a snow cone guy there and and stuff, but uh we did very well. Yeah, but I do I enjoy weddings, so I do wed I do weddings too. Yeah. So if anybody's ever uh needs a cheesecake guy for do you usually prep for a wedding?

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Like do you make like the little bitty servings or like you do different size cheesecake?

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah, I have the mini bites that I do, and then I have the cupcake size, and then every once in a while you have a groom's a groomsman's cake.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

True, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

And I actually did my first webinar where I did the uh bride and groom's cake, which was kind of cool. And I did that in a did that in a heart shape. That was that's cute. Yeah, I enjoyed that.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Awesome. So recently you've taken to social media ever since this whole thing has started. How has social media changed your business?

SPEAKER_01 13:34

It's made it busier. Uh and it's funny when you go out to places, it's like you'll you'll have somebody come up to you and you're like Are you cheesecake daddy? Yeah, you're yeah, you're cheesecake daddy or uh we were at the men's conference for uh cross point, and I actually had somebody there, they're like they heard my voice. Yeah, and I have the most country accent, I think, probably in Carterville. Yeah, but uh he's like, Your cheesecake daddy. I'm like, Yeah, okay, you know, and I'm still getting used to it. I'm very humbled by it.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

Yeah, I mean, and speaking of, I mean, you've been to my salon a bunch of times to drop off cheesecakes, and you've met the girls there. And I get to work one day and Mandy Baxter, her daughter, had just recently had a baby, and she goes, Guess who I saw at the hospital? And I was like, Who? She said, Cheesecake daddy. And I was like, Why was he there? Did he have a family member? She was like, I don't know, but I saw him there in the lobby. And so tell us about this whole hospital story with this cheesecake.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

So the first one happened, and this is what started is because it's happened twice, right? Yes, yes, it's happened twice. And and I even have I'll I'll tell one more story after that. But I uh that one started off, we were sitting there watching TV. I don't even know what we were watching, but we're watching a show, and we I get this text, and it's like this woman was in labor, and she got and she texted from so I just want to let you know, I am really craving a cheesecake, and if you have any on hand, which I happen to have one.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

I had an Oreo. She's like, I need it. I'm not I'm I'm in labor, and if I don't answer you right this minute, it's because I'm you know delivering a baby.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Oh my gosh, that's crazy. So how long did it take you to get to the hospital once she messaged you?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Uh 10 or 20, 20, 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Because you already had the cheesecake ready.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

All I had to do is pop the homemade white.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

What time was that? What time was that?

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Late at night. I actually caught oh okay, yeah. 10, 10 o'clock.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Cheesecake mommy says it was 10 o'clock.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

10 o'clock. And then I actually, the first time I actually had my camera person. She's not my niece, but we I consider my niece.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Family, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

And uh she went with me and we we we filmed the first one there, and that was that was crazy.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Yeah, yeah. And so I commented on that video and I was like, Cheesecake daddy is a daddy to us all, and it is just like the best thing. And she commented back. I actually found out about him from your videos, and I just think that's so cool about how cyclical this community is with whenever we reach out to each other and get the word out. Um, and so it happened again like a week later, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Yeah, at the cool thing, the cool thing is is I actually got to meet the first family. I got to meet her the next day and went and visit her.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

And then a week later, I get another one. And she uh I I was able to take a uh cheesecake to her, and it was funny. We got a picture of the baby, of course.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

We make sure we absolutely at privacy.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

But the cheesecake was right next to the baby with a piece taken out.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Yeah, cheesecake baby, cheesecake daddy, cheesecake mommy. We got all the cheesecake.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Anywhere and everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Oh my gosh. Cake Carter's full. Back to school is just around the corner, and with that, we are launching a new seasonal wine. Some of that includes art embordered shirts to say Keep Carter local. We have more of an athletic wine, more designs. To see some of those designs and stay up to date on what we're doing, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter at cakecartersville.co and let's keep Carter's cool. And so, um where where do you plan to go from here? What do you want to do? What's your game plan with Cheesecake Daddies?

SPEAKER_01 17:14

My game plan is that I want a brick and mortar or just a small bakery. I don't want anything tiny.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Yeah. I'm not, I'm not looking at to be this guy or eventually a franchise it or I'm not. I want a small bakery that that you're five states away and you're like, oh my God, we gotta go Cheesecake Days. We've heard all this stuff about it.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

And you're and it's me welcoming you into my home.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

That that space in my happy place.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Do you hope to have this like in the heart of downtown Cartersville? Is that where you picture it? That's where I see it too. Do you have any idea about how to go about that and like what steps you would have to take to get there?

SPEAKER_01 17:56

I mean, I'm not a rich man. And you know, financially it is a lot to put in, you know. And I and I I put all kinds of things out there. I mean, you could do check on small business loans or you could check on doing an investor, you know, and stuff like that. And and I'm still trying to figure that out.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

But I do know this, and I know for me is that I put my faith and my trust in God. When and it's not when Joey's ready for it, it's when, you know, God says, you know what, Joey, whole cars will really needs to see even more of you. And those opportunities and those people will come when I need them.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Yeah. Um, my husband and I have been in the same boat because I mean this Hey Carsville thing is brand new to us. And my husband was laid off last December, and we've been very prayerful through this entire journey and asking God what we really want, yeah, what he wants us to do with our lives. And last fall, we before he even lost his job, we were very prayerful about God open doors for us and we will walk through them, and obedience was the number one word for us. And so he came home after his layoff, and I said, It's okay, we prayed for this. And in January is when I made my first Hey Carter's little video at Sweet Market, and that started doing well, and my social media started doing well, and I was like, Are you sure, God, is this really what you want me to do? And I kept getting open doors and open doors and open doors. And I think that the biggest store that opened was, I'm trying to get emotional, was my relationship with you because this has proved to me that my hand in social media can actually affect people's lives in a huge way. And this is not saying that I have done this because I have done none of this. God has told me to do this. And I have just this affirmation and confirmation from God that this is the right thing, just watching your business grow and how I really believe that Cheesecake Daddy's is going to have its own storefront and its own spot in town. We just gotta figure out how to get there. I just see it happening. I mean, the camaraderie that like you have a fabulous quality product, and I can't even go to the grocery store and grab cheesecake from Kroger anymore. I was at, we were talking about Dollar General earlier. I was at Dollar General and I was like, I need to get some dessert. And I saw the cheesecake in the freezer section. I looked at it and I grabbed it.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

And I was like, And I literally was like, I can't do it.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

I can't do it. And I put it back because, like, I mean, I can't, I seriously have never had a better cheesecake. I appreciate it ever. And so I just think that your product is so amazing that I want to shout it to the rooftops, and that is why I got my friends on social media involved with like getting the word out there, and we said, we've got to blow this guy up. His cheesecakes are actually good. We're being totally genuine. And so I hope that if there's anybody out there watching that is a business person, we're the creatives behind things. We don't know how money runs and how to get this going. But um, if you have any advice for Joey, we would really love that because he's got this amazing product and this passion for cheesecake. I can't even have a conversation with you without you talking about cheesecake flavors.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

True. Yeah, I mean, you know, before we even started this, it's like I had like six or seven.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

But I, you know, to to say, you know, to kind of go with what you're saying is that God will put uh people I know, I know. And uh people in certain points of your life to tell you that, you know what, what you're doing is right. And uh that it's gonna be okay. You're gonna have the struggles and and stuff like that. And uh and I understand that. Don't I don't always look Like it, but I understand you have to go through that. But the uh the amount of support I have gotten and and and uh I don't even know how to describe it, but I just know that you have to believe in it, even when it's frustrating, when you know I I can sit here and say there are times when I'm like, you know, I do not want to do this anymore. This is not worth it.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

I feel the same about hair.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Yeah, I'm not getting anywhere, but you are, which you don't realize you are, but you are.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

The phrase I use with Caleb all the time is I tell him, I feel like I'm running in place. Yeah, like you are just like booking it, like at 65 miles an hour, no stopping, but I'm not going anywhere. And I'm sure you felt that way. But um it's also interesting to let go of control. You and I were talking about how when you're a creative and when you're passionate about something, you want to be in control of when it happens and how it happens. Um, but God is holding the reins the whole time. I have finally handed him the reins this year, and it has totally changed my life. And it doesn't mean that bad things won't happen. It doesn't mean that we won't go through hard times. But to see the fruit that can come from letting go of control has completely changed my life in the past, you know, six months, eight months, nine months. Um, because I mean you're going through something really hard right now, if unless you don't want to talk about it. But you said that you're about to have to have heart surgery.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Yeah, I mean, a long a while back, we uh it was funny. I actually uh Dr. Heiser, I don't mind saying his name, I love the guy, but we had a 10-year gap where we didn't see each other, not because of him, but I'm not big on doctors. Sure. Not many of us are. And before I seen him, he didn't have gray hair. And within 10 years, it's when I did see him. I was like, wow, you got a lot of gray hair. He's like, well, yeah, you know, when you're not showing up, but um, you know, I had my check up and nothing really came of it of it, but my wife had an appointment, and it was uh it was kind of funny. I'm sitting in the lobby, she's having her visit, and Dr. Heiser says, You need to get your husband here. We need to have a conversation. And I'm like, okay, is he gonna scold me about something? But uh to come to find out, it was I I believe it was some kind of irregular heartbeat with my heart. And uh at some point, you know, he he told me, he's like, okay, we're gonna have to get you to a specialist, see what's going on. And it wasn't any good to severe, it was like severe to and he's and he was at that moment, he said, I don't know if we shouldn't go ahead and do this or not. And thank goodness, he's like, take care of yourself, keep your blood pressure down, which I have done. I've lost my weight. Cool. And you know, uh he says, when you he said, when you start to get more fatigue and this and that, he said, then we need to look at it. And it could be years. I mean, I sitting here right now, I could be talking to you, and I give you a message in two days. Yeah. Hey, guess what? I'm in the hospital fixing to have a heart surgery.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

And we're gonna bring you cheesecake.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Yes, yes. I love pizza. Uh oh burger pizza. So uh, I mean, but it's uh whenever it happens, it'll happen. Uh I'm blessed with the job I have that that is there, and that's one of the biggest reasons why I haven't even even thought about it about cheesecake days, but I mean I have to now, even though that's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

It's been the open door for you. God's opened this door and let's walk through it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

And I know it, I know that it's gonna be fine. I have a wonderful doctor. Yeah. And uh I so just something to keep an eye on. Yeah, get she can't collect the insurance anytime soon, I tell you that.

SPEAKER_00 26:01

So uh well, my goodness. But um, so you're in three, almost three restaurants right now. How many restaurants would you like to be in before you open your own store? I mean, what cap what could you do capacity-wise? What could you take on?

SPEAKER_01 26:15

I mean I mean, I could do I don't want to do too many restaurants. You want to keep it special.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

You want that to be the reason that people go there.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Because then I want you to be able to come to to the storefront and I want a storefront where I don't, I don't mean it's bad. I don't want seats.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

I don't want, I mean, I love people.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

Yeah. But you want them in and out. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

I mean, you know, or you know, and then I want to get to know people like through the years and get to know your family, you know.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Weddings, baby showers, birthdays.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

No, I've been a part of that. And then I want to have a section where, like uh some of the restaurants, they have the chef table. Well, they have a wedding couple's table where they get to come back to the kitchen away from everybody. Yes. And do the thing. But you know, being a I I was a youth pastor or youth leader a long time ago at Palm Out.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

You don't realize that? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Yeah, I had I had 30 kids, and it's funny, I work with one of them now.

SPEAKER_00 27:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

Uh, and I've seen these kids grow up and watch their walk in faith and and and to see I enjoy that, to see them as they grow up, to be a part. Yeah, I've been invited to weds, I watched babies be born. Uh, that means a lot. That's what you know, and it's the community of everything.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

And I just want, you know, when people come to Carsville, because I love Carsville is a great place.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

And I want people to be like, I'm coming to Carsville because of this. And knowing that I was a part of that.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

You know, I want to sustain us here at the time.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

Build community. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We were talking earlier about how Cartersville is really the place to be when it comes to supporting local. And people actually do like to encourage each other. And there's plenty of creative work to go around. There's plenty of cheesecake to go around. There's plenty of bakeries to go around. I don't think that I think that Cartersville is really good about fostering growth no matter what. And that's something I'm really excited about. And that's something that I want to keep fostering that type of culture in town, like with the positivity. But yeah, I mean, I see, I see you opening that storefront and I see that happening. And I'm impatient too. And I know the world is because everybody in my comment section is like, where can I get this? Where can I get this? So, where can we get your cheesecakes? Tell me where we can get them.

SPEAKER_01 28:35

For right now, it's at 40 D Ouros, and then it's at Armando's on the other side of Carsville. Okay. Which it especially with Armondo's, a lot of people, I didn't realize they're they have been around for a long time. They have been around over 25 years. Wow. And Rebecca is one of the owners, and I love her to death. Yeah. And you know, they they're they they get a couple of cheesecakes from me and stuff like that. But their food's good. It's local, it's homemade. Yeah. And and and I hope for me saying this, it blows them up. Exactly. That's how I thought about you. Yeah. You know, and that's what we're here for. Like you said, we're here for support. You know, uh other bakeries, there may be a time I do a TikTok. Like you had the cookies.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

Yeah, from Otto's.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

And I've had the cookies.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

They're good, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:23

Yes, they are phenomenal. Yeah, and I've and and I would love to what if I'll collabed. I cheesecake cookie sandwich? Yes, that would be good. I think that sounds really good. But I would I I do want to go buy it because I think she has a bakery, or does she do it from home?

SPEAKER_00 29:39

I think she does it from home because she doesn't have to deal with the whole cheesecake part, but maybe she could come to you at Jake's. I don't know how that works, but y'all could figure it out. So because she does cookie cakes. What uh what if it was like cookie cake crust and then like cheesecake on top? That sounds fabulous.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

Well, my wife keeps telling me that I need to make a cheesecake-filled cookie.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

I've got a couple ideas on that. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

So your phrase is uh you think it we can make it, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 30:08

You think it we can make it?

SPEAKER_00 30:09

And you can also get personal orders from your website, right? What is your website?

SPEAKER_01 30:14

Website is www.cheesecake daddies.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

Dot com?

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Dot com. That's what I thought. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:22

And you can just go on there and order a cheesecake, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:25

Yeah, and just it just I remember I have a full-time job. Absolutely. And remember that, you know, if you put in an order, it will it will be the next week before I could even get it. It's just, you know, always prepping. And I feel bad because you have people that, hey, I need a cheesecake for tomorrow. And for me, I'm like a people pleaser.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

And I'm like, oh man, I ruin it.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

But it's you know, so I'm having to set those boundaries myself when people saying, Do you have a haircut available on Tuesday? And I'm fully booked. I'm like, I could come in early, but I recently had to be like, no, I gotta cut it off because I'm gonna get burnt out. But yeah, I mean, balancing that full-time job and our creative work. I mean, I'm doing that with doing hair full-time and then hate carters full part-time and hoping to, you know, grow this brand myself. But yeah, um, where was I going with this? My goodness. But, anyways, oh, if people have questions with um what flavor to get or if they want to create something, what is the easiest way to get a hold of you? Is it Facebook, Instagram, TikTok? Which one's the easiest?

SPEAKER_01 31:24

I mean, Facebook, TikTok, I mean, and I for the website, it has it has my number on there. Okay. So my home number is my business number. So they get they can call me on that and and everything. But Facebook, TikTok are the big ones that you're pretty quick at getting back on TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 31:41

I will say myself, the messages back on the back.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Sometimes, but it helps that I have my wife that's like, hey, by the way, guess what? And she's already answered something for me, which is great. Yes. I'm like, oh, okay. I didn't know that they sent something, and the good thing is she's connected with it, so she can see it too. Wow. Because that's that's she's my partner over there, and I'm blessed to have her. 24 years.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

Wow, she's the best.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

She's put up with me.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

So she the crust story. You say that she's the reason that your crust is so good.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

She is the worst and the best critic I've ever had in my life. And and I mean that in a wonderful way. Yeah. Because she and she will, and I've had my moments, you know, my crust will not always work out. I mean, I I'd be the first one to say, yeah, and it, but she will be like, okay, you need to figure out what's going on because when it's good, it's good. But when it when it's bad, it can be bad. Because I mean it it there is a trick to, and that's where she gets on to me about the whole thing measuring things.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

I know. Well, I was gonna say, if you want to open a storefront, are you planning on being the person to bake every single cake? Because if you are, then that works. But what happens when you have to train somebody?

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 32:52

You can't be like a little bit of this, little bit of that. I thought about it.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Oh, you know, I could put that on a piece of paper and they could figure it out that way, you know.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

Uh we'll get there when we get there.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Yeah, but no, she she is right. I mean, when I get to that point, when I and there's the whole control thing that the CD is, you mean I've got to share somebody with what I do, how I do it. Yeah, but exactly.

SPEAKER_00 33:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like this, I've created this. I want I fostered this. Are they gonna take it and do something else with it? Like, yeah. I feel that I understand that fear.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

But it's one of those things that I love kids, you know, and you know, maybe one of those things when I have a bakery that I can bring some young kids that summer job. Number one, and number two, that you're a family.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Not having not being a boss that is like just you know, ball and chains and you gotta do this. I I just everybody has their cre creativity of how they want to do things, and you know, especially with kids, you want to you want to bring that out. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 33:59

So yeah. Well, thank you for uh joining us today on our first episode of the Two Local Podcast. If you would like to order from Cheesecake Daddy, go to Cheescakedaddies.com, contact him on any social media platform. We hope you enjoyed today's first episode. If you would like to learn more about Hey Carter's hill and what we're doing, or look at our merchandise, you can go to heycartersill.co and we will see you next time. Let's keep Carter's hole local.