Baking up new business in Westfield

By AMY ADAMS
news@readthereporter.com

Westfield Mayor Scott Willis, Chamber of Commerce President Courtney Albright and other city officials were on site for the official grand opening and ribbon-cutting for Becky the Bakester at 203 W. Jersey St. last Wednesday, April 24.

Though the funfetti walls and glass display cases holding everything from cake pops to scones provide a new shopping experience for hungry patrons, owner Becky Lane and her baked goods have been well-received in Westfield and surrounding Hamilton County for several years.

“Becky the Bakester is a product of the pandemic,” Lane said.

Along with precipitating changes in virtually every area of life, the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 led a lot of people to reevaluate their careers.

Becky Lane was one of those people. Having left her previous career, Lane was already considering what she wanted to do next.

“The stress of being at home and e-learning led me back to the kitchen and the joy of cooking and baking just for the fun of it,” Lane said. “After doing that for a while, I was asking, ‘Why can’t I do this for the next step in my career?’”

And so, Lane launched Becky the Bakester in September of 2020.

Prior to opening her business, she had researched cottage food laws in Indiana to understand what she could bake and sell from home. Those laws were pretty limiting, so after about a year, Lane decided to move to a commercial kitchen. Being part of a shared kitchen in Carmel meant that she could expand her offerings, but it also meant that she had to work around other cook’s schedules.

“For Thanksgiving of ‘21, we were literally baking pies from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.,” Lane said.

When that kitchen closed, Christy Johnson, who owns The Bountiful Board in Sheridan, invited Lane to share her kitchen in June of 2022.

“We would work together and collaborate on different things,” Lane said. “We both had growing businesses, and we kind of started tripping over each other this past holiday season.”

Lane didn’t want to have to drive to downtown Indianapolis for a shared kitchen, so she began looking for her own space.

With local gift shop Remedy moving out in order to open a new location in conjunction with Root 31, both owned by Angela Gapinski, the retail space at 203 W. Jersey St. became available. Lane leased the storefront from Bob and Michelle Beauchamp.

“They have been amazing,” Lane said. “It wasn’t just about filling the space. They were excited about having a bakery in the area.”

Becky the Bakester held a soft opening on March 14 for “Pie Day.”

“I always say that pies and our gourmet marshmallows that we make from scratch are our specialties,” Lane said, “but we’ve gotten a lot of orders for cake pops lately.”

The shop also offers fresh-baked breads as well as scones and a wide variety of sweet treats.

“It’s amazing to see a resident in our community go from farmer’s markets to opening here,” Willis said. “That’s exactly what we hoped would happen in this corridor.”

Though Lane said she probably won’t continue to be at farmer’s markets, she still plans to do events and catering. Plus, she’s now just a short walk from the Westfield Farmer’s Market that starts back up Thursday, May 3, at Grand Junction Plaza.

“I am so thankful for all the support I have gotten through the years, especially from my family,” Lane said. “It just means the world to me that they feel like my business is worth their time. And then the general community of Westfield and Hamilton County has been so supportive of me. I am so glad that I have been able to root my business here where my kids are in school and where I plan to stay for a long time.”

Becky the Bakester is open Tuesdays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit BeckyTheBakester.com.