Last Call Baking Adventure

Hey folks! A lot of you know me as Last Call Baking Co., but my name is Chanah Willis, and I am the two tiny hands behind this small business. I started this business in the heat of the pandemic and could never have imagined the overwhelming support our Birmingham community would show, and the love you all have for these pastries I dream up. Last Call has now grown to operate out of a shared commercial kitchen with five wholesale accounts across the city, and demand is still growing! I could not be more thankful.

About a year and a half ago, I bounced around jobs as the pandemic really gripped our state. I decided to drastically change my life and take on a career path as a pastry chef out of total desire. Shortly after, my baking job was terminated as Urban Standard closed, and I was left to ponder what my future was going to look like. After a text from a friend about selling at farmer's market and encouragement from my partner, I started baking out of a 500 square foot apartment.

Within half a year I was privileged to make home baking my full time job. Around the spring of 2021, I had requests from different coffee shops to start wholesale orders and knew I had to find a commercial kitchen. In March 2021, I met Mark Thompson and was offered space in their new cafe. Since that meeting, Last Call sped into what you know it as today.

This kind of growth has caused me to outgrow the kitchen I moved into at the beginning of this year, and I've started preparation to move into my very own retail space with a kitchen that's just mine so that I can keep up with demand, supplying you with the pastries and cakes you love! This doesn't come without challenges though. I've already found an absolutely perfect spot, a beautiful space that's being renovated as I type this, and will be ready for operation by the end of the year - but this comes at a pretty great cost. As development has rolled on, a lease has been signed, and the business is rapidly growing, I'm realizing that it is time to ask for help.

On top of equipment purchases - things like prep tables, mixers, ovens, a laminator, speed racks and so on, there are license fees, taxes, and other developmental costs to make this space work for a baking environment - it's as bare bones as it gets right now, a beautiful empty shell that is going to make for a lovely home for Last Call. These donations will go to equipment purchases, permits, and surprise costs that fellow small business owners can understand. Our goal is to have our doors open by the beginning of 2022 and get y'all fed. Thanks again, folks. I wouldn't be here without each and every one of you!

Chanah Willis