Brown Sugar Bakery Brings the Love

Brown Sugar Bakery is located at 328 E. 75th Street. Photo provided by Enjoy Illinois.
Brown Sugar Bakery is located at 328 E. 75th Street. Photo provided by Enjoy Illinois.

Brown Sugar Bakery Brings the Love

By Tia Carol Jones

Stephanie Hart, owner of the Brown Sugar Bakery, bakes cakes that reminds people of their loved ones. Her Caramel, Red Velvet, German Dark Chocolate and Pineapple Coconut Cakes reference a nostalgia for people who come into her Chatham store, and those who order her cakes to have them shipped across the country.

“This is something that I started doing out of the love I received from people through dessert,” she said.

Hart said there was a time when people loved you through the food they prepared for you, where every single ingredient was of the highest quality because the people wanted you to feel that love. She said she stood on the lessons she learned, the respect she had for the people who showed their love to her through the food they made for her. Hart said what makes Brown Sugar Bakery unique is that she started making the cakes of her childhood that were typically African American. 

She said the people who get the reference of her cakes the most do so because of shared cultural experiences. Hart said the community where her Chatham bakery is located has deep roots. She said she came to the community where people know quality and get the references.

In addition to the classics, Brown Sugar Bakery also has cakes with flavors like the Rainbow Sherbert Cake, Turtle, Vanilla, Cream Cheese and Caramel. Those cakes have Hart’s spin on it, and still, they resonate with the customers who buy them from the bakery.  She stayed true to her roots and the feeling she got when she got a piece of Red Velvet Cake, and her grandmother’s double Chocolate Cake.

Hart said she was thankful that she was chosen as part of the Illinois Made Program. She looked at it as being able to go beyond being Chicago’s favorite cake to being Illinois’ favorite cake. Being part of the Illinois Made program is a way not just for Hart and Brown Sugar Bakery to receive recognition, but the other businesses on the 75th Street corridor to receive their due, as well. Brown Sugar Bakery is across the street from Lem’s Bar-B-Q and down the street from Soul Vegetarian Restuarant.

“Being part of the Illinois Made Program and being able to speak to an audience broader than my neighborhood and have that interest, not only impacts my business, but several businesses,” she said, adding that it means people are drawn to businesses and a community that is outstanding.

She said she would encourage other Black woman owned businesses to apply for the Illinois Made Program because it is an opportunity, not a decision. She said it is an opportunity to showcase their business and their business community to Illinois. She said it is a gift to be involved, and she considers it an honor and an opportunity.

Being part of the Illinois Made Program and the Enjoy Illinois tourism component has also broadened Brown Sugar Bakery’s nationwide shipping platform. She said the program helps businesses expand their reach, by showcasing them to people who live all over the country and all over the world.

The Brown Sugar Bakery is located at 328 E. 75th St. For more information about Brown Sugar Bakery, visit www.brownsugarbakerychicago.com. You can also follow us @brownsugarbakeries on Instagram and Brown Sugar Bakery Chicago on Facebook.   www.enjoyillinois.com/plan-your-trip/illinois-made.


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