FRIEND REQUEST: HEATHER STREICHER OF BECK’S CROWN BAKERY

Beck’s Crown Bakery has been family owned and operated since 1969 priding themselves on freshness, quality, and service. Heather Streicher is next in line to carry on the legacy. She has learned a lot about herself and the industry since her parent’s took over from her grandparents in 2008.

LOCAL 219: Alright, my first question is, was it circumstances, your childhood, or hobbies that led you to this position, and what position are you in specifically?

HEATHER STREICHER: I would consider myself more cake decorator/storefront.

L219: How long have you been here for?

HS: Ha! My whole life. Unofficially since I was about six. It’s my parent’s bakery; it used to be my grandparents. My grandma and my papa. They opened it in 1969. They had various locations. We used to be on the square. The first location was over where Twelve Islands is, but that burned down, and then the bakery was rebuilt.

It’s been here since about 1993 but my parents took over in 2008. I’ve been here the whole time and I’m next in line to take over.

L219: So, there have been lot of changes. as happens with business, but how exciting for you! What gets you out of bed in the morning? What’s your driving force to get ready for the day?

HS: Totally the fact that I have kids. Definitely that, and nothing would be possible without God.

L219: Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

HS: Definitely my grandfather, the one who opened here. He always helped people. He would have given you the shirt off his back. People would ask for donations all the time, he wouldn’t even blink and would give 110%. So that is something that I want to keep alive when I eventually take over.

I want to be known to be as generous as my grandfather.

L219: That’s a beautiful aspiration. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned while being in this industry, or advice that you would give someone looking to get into the industry?

HS: Don’t waste your money going to school. I’m so serious. Really, just get a job and get into it. Get into the business. Most bakeries [will say], “I don’t care if you have pastry experience, I’m gonna train you my way. With our recipes…”

L219: Your technique…

HS: Yes. Going to school is a complete waste of your money. You learn from doing it, you learn from hands-on experience. That is the best that there could ever be.

L219: That makes sense. I studied Hospitality Management and we definitely didn’t cover the stress of a restaurant or the tension of a kitchen in a book. What life lesson have you learned?

HS: I would say the biggest thing for me, and this was maybe just a couple of years ago, was when I was really struggling with, “What is my purpose in life? What am I supposed to be doing?” And I’ve always had a heart for missions.

What I realized was that anywhere can be your mission field, and now we currently employ two, we had three at one time, people on Work Release.

L219: That’s incredible.

HS: One of the girls in the program said, “You’re not just baking cakes, you’re rehabilitating lives.”

L219: You absolutely are. You’re getting people back on their feet. You’re teaching them a skill set, and transitioning them back into the community.

HS: She even said too that as long as she’s here, and she has good people around her, she doesn’t feel like she’s gonna slip back into the world she came from.

L219: Good for her and good for your company to be providing her with the opportunity. My last question is what do you enjoy most about this position or this industry?

HS: It is hard work. So, at the end of the day, you feel like you’ve accomplished something, and it’s always different. We’re always making different things, because customers always want something different. It could be a challenge. I also like the creativity aspect. So, Easter’s coming and I get to decide on different designs, different cakes.

L219: That sounds like a lot of fun. Do you feel like you know the process like the back of your hand at this point?

HS: There’s so much you’re always learning, and the thing about the industry too, is that it’s always changing. So, whereas, when my parents first got into it fancy wedding cakes we’re in. It was this huge thing. Now, people are minimalists.

L219: Yes! I remember seeing pictures with connecting stairs on wedding cakes…

HS: Yeah, and now they want naked cakes, no icing just flowers. So, it’s always changing. You’re always learning new things, and I enjoy getting to work with different people.