Sweets that taste like childhood helped Joe’s Bakery founder turn side hustle into thriving cottage business

Homemade chocolate chip cookies, blueberry mini-muffins and an apple crumb cake reminiscent of bygone McKenzie’s Pastry Shoppe in New Orleans have helped Joe’s Bakery founder Beth Ford turn a hobby into a full-time job.

Part of the growing landscape of cottage bakeries in the Capital Region, Joe’s specializes in homemade, classic sweets like pies, cookies, brownies and bars.

“Everything is from scratch,” Ford says. “I don’t use mixes because I like to know what goes into what I eat, and I want my customers to have that same luxury.”

Like many micro-bakery founders, Ford launched Joe’s as a side hustle in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stuck at home, she had turned to baking as a distraction from the isolation, made worse by the recent death of her father. Baking was something she’d always enjoyed. Her then-17-year-old daughter, at home with Ford, made a bold suggestion.

“She just kept saying, ‘Mom, why don’t you start a bakery?’” Ford recalls.

Ford did, immediately naming it after her late father.

Loads of pandemic home bakers embraced the sourdough craze during the shutdown, but Ford focused on sweets, whipping out custom cupcakes and cookies for her first customers. The menu later ballooned to a wide array of specialty items and has now settled into a generous roundup of scratch-made favorites including fresh cinnamon rolls, pies, cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, cookie cakes, brownies, bars, sweet breads and muffins.

Ford sells directly to consumers through her website and local pop-ups, and she has also found success with catered events. In 2025, she decided to quit her job and focus exclusively on baking.

“I wasn’t fulfilled in my full-time job anymore, and my daughter had moved out of state to live her life,” Ford says. “I was like, ‘It’s time for me. I’ve raised my child, and she’s a productive member of society. This is the second half of my life, and I need to do what makes me happy.”

A New Orleans native, Ford says it took 30 years to perfect what has become Joe’s top-selling Dutch apple pie, inspired by McKenzie’s and made with chunks of tart Granny Smith apples. She also makes homemade Louisiana pecan, cherry, blueberry and pumpkin pies and a chocolate cream pie assembled with vanilla wafers and chocolate pastry cream, both made from scratch.

In fact, making the pie’s pastry cream base is Ford’s favorite kitchen task.

“It starts out as just milk, salt and sugar,” she says. “But once you add the egg yolks, you start to see it thicken. Watching it come together really just brings my soul peace.”

Homemade graham crackers form the basis of the crusts for her key lime and lemon meringue pies. She also makes pie bars, or slab-style pies that are sliced into bite-size pieces. Her potato chip chocolate pie, a cult classic among home cooks, integrates crushed chips into the pie crust for a sweet and savory interplay.

Ford also makes king cakes during Carnival season using her cinnamon roll recipe rather than brioche.

Ford says she likes making and selling sweet treats because they’re a tether to memory, often reminding her customers of favorite family moments and milestone events.

“I think people are just looking for that comfort, and taste of home,” she says. “That’s what I try to provide.”

Sweets fans might have sampled Ford’s wares at the Main Library’s Baker Faire or Fork Cancer earlier this year. Upcoming events include Sweet Baton Rouge’s Ultimate Tailgate at Perkins Rowe in August and Woman’s Hospital’s BUST Breast Cancer Chef’s Showcase in October.

Learn more at joesbakerybr.com.