It all started in 2019 - my (Erin) freshman year of college when I began my first job at a local bakery in Haslett, MI. I was infatuated with the Great British Baking Show; the precision, creativity, beauty that all began with just a few simple ingredients. That’s when I realized I needed this first job at a bakery to help me decide if working in the food industry was for me. Turns out it absolutely was! My boss was an Italian woman (same as me) who taught me a bunch about baking Italian goods like biscotti, cuccidati, bomboloni, pignoli, etc. all the great stuff. Along the way, she helped me learn the importance of using GOOD ingredients and making everything from scratch.

A handful of months later, that business closed down right as the pandemic started and I was truly devastated. I floated around doing baking jobs here and there while finishing out my General Associates Degree at LCC and decided in the second semester of my sophomore year that this was for me. I was going to ditch the typical path of getting a Bachelor’s degree at the local University and bet on myself. Thank goodness my family bet on me too!

I quit the job I was currently working at to make custom cakes out of my house. I quickly began getting more and more orders from people in my town and eventually moved to the local farmers market. We were called “Erin’s Great Bakes” inspired by favorite show, The Great British Baking Show, of course. Erin’s Great Bakes expanded into making an array of baked goods on top of our custom cakes. Alongside me the entire time of this business was my mom, Donna. Remember her name - she’s going to come up a lot. She helped me bake, pack, label, setup shop at the markets, sell to customers, tear it down, and all over again ON TOP OF her 9-5. Week after week.

Support is everything and she was always by my side. Not only was my mom always helping me, but my dad, sister, brother were always there to lend a hand in any way they could.

Fast forward to the next market season, I took a leap and said “F*** it” and bought a food trailer. I was sick of the cottage food laws and the restrictions on what I could and could not bake because of them. So that following year we opened up Brewitt. Brewitt initially opened in December of 2022 in Owosso, MI and sold homemade focaccia paninis, but it wasn’t inspiring to me. Since it was December… and we live in Michigan, we closed down for the winter after about a month. I took a job at a taco place (random, I know) that gave me plenty of time to ponder about the menu and what would excite me. I landed on waffles.

That following spring the new menu of loaded waffles and waffle sandwiches was born. Brewitt relocated from Owosso to Tom’s Party Store in East Lansing where we began to bloom. The community was amazing to us - we fell in love with the area and the people.

Two seasons later, we found ourselves where we are now - Allen Neighborhood Center. We are located in the Accelerator Kitchen and are open year-round. We truly couldn’t be more happy with the people we’ve met along the way our journey and the people we get to see everyday here.

ANC is not only a great place for businesses to grow, but also an amazing nonprofit that serves the surrounding community. If you have the time, check their website or social media out. There are many opportunities you can benefit from or you can volunteer for. We love this place and are so grateful to be here.