NORFOLK, Va. — Perhaps the only thing sweeter than the cakes at Jen Anglin's bakery in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood, is the team that creates them. I first met Anglin back in 2021, a couple of years after she ditched a stressful corporate job to launch a small business.
"Comfort food in an uncomfortable time worked very well in our favor," Anglin explained.
In my first report, a COVID-19 mask covered Anglin's trademark hot-pink-lipsticked grin. Today, there's no hiding her smile.
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In a time when nearly half of small businesses downsized, sales at Pownd Cakes by Jen soared during the pandemic. In 2024, that trend hasn't stopped.
"Coming out of it, we've gained new people who didn't know we were here," she said. "It's sort of a resurgence."
I caught up with Jen during a rare break this week. She's keeping busy filling special orders for the holidays with her small, always smiling staff. That's the real secret ingredient, she says.
"Happy people make happy cakes, make happy customers, and it all kind of goes together," she laughed.
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Anglin recently expanded a partnership with Sentara Health, providing cakes to newborns at two Norfolk hospitals, Sentara Leigh and Sentara Norfolk General, growing that loyal customer base.
"We feel like they're our babies, our little pound cake babies, somehow," she said.
It's all about family in Virginia Beach, too. Cathy Baker—yes that's her real name—co-owns Flour Child Bakery with her daughter.
"We put our heart and soul into making this stuff," Baker said. "Everything is made completely from scratch."
I visited their shop on Pleasure House Road at the height of the pandemic in 2021, as COVID-weary customers searched for a sugar fix.
"We got to meet a lot of new customers, because a lot of people, you know, their hearts were pouring out for small businesses," she explained.
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Now, in 2024, the customers keep coming. Baker's team of six employees works nearly around the clock to keep up with the demand for cakes and cookies. Community support has kept the ovens running for almost 15 years now.
"Oh my gosh, it's the reason the doors stay open," she added.
A self-described Energizer Bunny, Baker tells me she'll keep going for as long as she can.
"As long as God makes my brain and my body still work, that's what we're going to do," she said.
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It's the same back in Norfolk where Jen Anglin says she's landed on her feet. A few years after trading her business suit for a baker's apron, her story just keeps getting sweeter.
"Every single day I am thankful that I took that leap," Anglin said.
