One of Wichita’s most well-known bakers is hanging up her apron after almost 20 years
She’s been one of Wichita’s most well-known bakers for the last two decades.
But this week, Cheri Kovacic — the founder of the popular Cheri’s Bakery at 2121 N. Tyler — has hung up her apron, she said.
Kovacic said she’s sold the business to two longtime employees: Kalee Rose, a culinary school graduate who’s been with the bakery for 15 years, and Marisa McCall, who’s been with Kovacic for 10 years. Kovacic’s last day at the bakery was Tuesday.
The new owners aren’t planning any changes, Kovacic said, and they will keep selling the decorated cookies and cakes the business has become known for. They’ll also keep operating the cookie truck Kovacic added last summer: Cheri’s Sweet Ride.
“They know how I run it, and they know how it’s done, and now they can just put their own spin on it,” Kovacic said.
In the summer of 2000, Kovacic was looking for a way to make money after her husband was laid off from his job. She started selling decorated cookies from her home, and “it just kind of snowballed from there.”
Her baked goods became so popular that in October 2002, she opened a bricks-and-mortar bakery at 21st and Maize Road. Four years later, she needed more room again and moved to her current space at 21st and Tyler, which is in the same strip center as Pizza Ranch.
She changed the name from Cheri’s Cakes & Cookies to Cheri’s Bakery, and the business continued to grow. Last summer, she added the cookie truck, which serves “sweets with a twist” at local events.
Kovacic said she’s not ready to retire but decided that the time was right to sell her business. She hopes to find some other job in Wichita, but it won’t involve baking.
She said Cheri’s is in good hands.
“Wichita will still get the wonderful cakes and cookies they’ve gotten all these years, and everything will continue,” she said.
This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 11:57 AM.
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