PLATES OF JOYY Needs Your Help to Relocate Bakery

Hello!

My name is Leslie Tejada. I am a 21-year-old small business owner. Being a chef has been a dream of mine since I was younger!

I was born in the Dominican Republic, coming from very humble beginnings where we didn’t have much but we made the most out of every moment. Three years ago, I gained interest in baking. I fell in love with making things look “pretty.” After two years of at-home baking, taking orders, and working from home, I decided it was time to take a leap of faith. I looked into getting small bakery spaces to fulfill my dream of opening up my very first small bakery. After months and months and MONTHS of hard work, two very tiring jobs, and late nights taking cake orders, I did everything I could to scrape up all the money I had to make this dream come true, as well as following God's command of putting all faith in Him in this journey. I continued the hard work, saved up every bit of money as well as my savings, and officially got a space at the Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor. On September 20th, I opened up my bakery. Every day has been a total dream! There is nothing more rewarding than gaining relationships with customers who continue to choose me for special moments.

After pouring my heart and soul into opening my bakery, I recently received devastating news that my lease will be terminated on January 7th. Despite my best efforts to address this situation, and even going so far as retaining an attorney, I have no choice at this time but to leave my current space and start over. This unexpected turn has been incredibly disheartening, especially after the significant time, savings, and effort I invested in building this dream.

I went back and forth with myself on whether I should make this GoFundMe or not, but this is my last resort. As embarrassing and downgrading as this feels to me, I am only human, and sometimes all we can do is ask for help. So, here I am asking my customers, family, and friends for help in this matter. We are facing challenging times, and I completely understand if you are unable to donate. Just sharing this post would help me in many ways by allowing my voice to be heard.

The money donated will go towards finding a new space and opening up a new location as soon as possible to continue to serve my community! Thank you for the immense amount of support throughout this journey. I ask that you give me patience as this is one of the hardest things I have had to face. I know God has a plan for me! We are just getting started❤️