HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — After having to close his cookie business during the pandemic, a local baker is back and he said he couldn’t have done it without the support of the LGBTQ community.
“My partner Scott he has Parkinson’s, and his dream was to always have a small sweet shop,” said Barry Sherman.
Sherman and Scott were well on their way, representing the LGBTQ community as vendors at the Super Bowl until the pandemic caused their cookie dreams to crumble.
“We were on the verge of a brick-and-mortar store and it was just not going to happen at that point,” said Sherman.
Now, three years later, Sherman is back with his new business, Da Bomb Confections. He said it was the support from Scott and the LGBTQ community that inspired the resurgence.
“Any group that is part of a minority, in general, has been really supportive; I just couldn’t stay away from that sense of family,” said Sherman. “It gives you the drive to come back bigger, better and dream larger.”
Sherman is not alone; he works alongside more than 100 other small business owners, literally feeding off each other, inside Pro Kitchen Hub Tampa.
“It's a shared commercial kitchen where we help entrepreneurs get started whether they are bakers, caterers, food trucks, beverage companies, anybody who needs that first start into the business,” said Kristen Zelinsky with Pro Kitchen Hub Tampa.
Right next door to the kitchen is the Bakery Box Pop-Up, where these small business owners can take turns throughout the week selling their treats, just like their own brick-and-mortar, but without all the overhead costs.
“I don’t care where you are coming from, what your background is, who you are with, my job is to help you as a small business owner,” said Zelinsky.
“We are all here to reach toward that common goal,” said Sherman.
“Being your authentic self is what is going to create your ambition and get you exactly where you want to be; let all of your colors show,” said Sherman.
For more information on either of these new businesses, go to Da'Bomb Confections or Pro Kitchen Hub Tampa.
