Sole provider—Bakery opens doors and heart to Lincolnton

Getting up at 4 a.m. to start baking is not a chore for DeAnn Parsons.
Smells of baking cookies, muffins and dough fill the air of the Lincolnton bakery.
She makes everything from scratch every morning in order to offer fresh items for her customers.
Northgate Bakery, located across from the Rock Garden in Lincolnton, offers everything from muffins to cookies to cakes and cheese straws.
Parsons is also hoping to add coffee to the menu in the future.
Their grand opening will be Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a drawing for a cake or pie.
Opening a bakery in Lincolnton is something the Cherryville resident has always wanted to do.
“It’s always been a dream to me,” she said.
“Lincolnton doesn’t have a bakery anywhere, and I think this is a good road to be on because it is heavily traveled,” she added.
Getting a place in Lincolnton fell perfectly into place for Parsons in the last two weeks.
“I feel in my heart that God had a hand in this,” she said. “My big concern is that I did not want to work on Sundays, but it was absolutely no problem.”
Parsons love of baking began in the sixth grade in her home economics class, where she learned how to make cakes and pastries.
“Everything we learned in class I would go home and make,” she said.
Her love for cooking continued all the way up to the twelfth grade.
Her sister, Lynn Stepp, also has a talent in the kitchen.
“She can bake as well, but she really likes to cook,” Parsons said.
Stepp, who lives in Mount Pleasant, is a personal chef and has her own catering business.
“We really don’t know where we got our talent,” Parsons said.
“We complement each other,” she added.
Parsons managed a bakery 15 years ago and also worked in a bakery in Texas.
Some of her specialties at the new bakery include a delicacy called a kolache, which can be stuffed with fruit, ham and cheese or sausage. There are also breakfast turnovers which can be made with sausage, egg and cheese or ham, egg and cheese.
Parsons, who home schools her four children, does not think working at the bakery will be a problem.
“They are asleep when I come in, and then I am home in the afternoon,” she added.
Parsons hopes the bakery will benefit Lincolnton.
“I want to make everyone happy. With me being a mom I know how hectic and busy it is,” she said. “I want to provide a service to other moms who can come home and do something special for their family by stopping here.”
Gift baskets will be offered for Christmas. There are also gift certificates available.
Parsons is in the process of looking for a cake decorator who will do birthday, anniversary and wedding cakes.
The hours of the bakery are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Once a cake decorator is hired, the hours will expand to 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call the bakery at 704-735-0856.

by Amy Wadsworth