I am 225: Sarah Joy Hays

It’s all about the chocolate chip cookies. The treats fly out of CounterspaceBR, Sarah Joy Hays’ from-scratch bakery on Perkins Road. With rich, creamy chocolate chips and flaky sea salt, it’s no wonder they’re so popular. A chocolate chip cookie is even the business’ logo.

A quick trip to Counterspace reveals a veritable candyland—a mouthwatering showcase of sweets made with love and fit with flair.

Hays took a winding road to get to this point: The Louisiana native and LSU grad long had a joy for home baking and cooking.

But before returning to Baton Rouge full time with the bakery, she worked for a nonprofit in D.C. She began the bakery in 2017, baking at home and selling at local markets. In 2018, she made the move to White Star Market. Her unique treats like tahini whoopie pies won over the hearts of diners.

Now operating solely from her Perkins Road storefront, where she’s been about a year, Hays is living the dream—making scrumptious confections, offering workshops and bringing the community together, one cookie at a time. counterspacebr.com

Quotes edited for  clarity and brevity:

“I often joke my baking classes might put the bakery front out of business. But that would be OK with me. I really just want more people to feel confident in having people in their homes and making delicious things. I think a lot of people underestimate themselves in terms of ability. I love watching people at the end of a cake decorating class go, ‘Oh, my gosh. I made this. It’s beautiful.’”

This article was originally published in the March 2020 issue of 225 Magazine.