The Sweet Life

February 3, 2022

Bill Woolmer started his online business, Sugar Daddy Cheesecakes, in October 2020 and only one year later moved to a storefront downtown.

When Woolmer’s social media page quickly grew to 4,000 followers, he made the decision to move into a commercial kitchen where he could offer full-size and by-the-slice cheesecakes.

“I wanted to make sure I could serve many different needs of the people in the city. Offering full-sized cheesecakes allows me to service special events and large celebrations while by-the-slice allows me to service small groups and offer a quick grab and go dessert option,” says Woolmer. “I custom create sugar-free, gluten-free, lactose-free and keto cheesecakes.”

The business owner finds himself baking up to 18 cheesecakes on the weekends to keep up with the high demand. Woolmer says he sells up to 20 slices on weekdays and will see up to 60 slices on weekends. During the community’s Midnight Madness event, Woolmer sold over 300 slices of cheesecake in one evening.

“The community support has been amazing. I believe I’m filling a void, since this is a niche business in the city,” Woolmer says. “I have local partnerships with restaurant, Redwood Steakhouse, and their neighboring bar Elements, located in the Medicine Hat Lodge, and Yatin’s Gastropub and Zeffirelli’s Cucina, who feature my cheesecakes on their dessert menu by name.”

This partnership with Yatin’s Gastropub lead Woolmer to finding his new downtown location. With the location next to the Arcade Plaza Mall, he felt the location would be easy to find and access. The heavy foot and vehicle traffic in the downtown core were especially appealing to the cheesecake business owner.

Woolmer expressed is interested in possibly expanding into the 900 square foot space behind him if he wanted to offer a more café style interior in the future.

“Now that I have a storefront, I’m baking twice as much as before in my home,” says Woolmer, who left his fulltime job to pursue his baking business venture. “I have people who come in on a regular basis, and new people who discover me from driving or walking by. I reach a whole new audience now that I have a prominent, physical location.”

By actively advertising on social media, Woolmer says his online orders have recently grown and has recently mailed orders to San Diego, California, Tampa Bay, Florida and as far as New Zealand

Sugar Daddy Cheesecakes is located at 102-401 3 Street S.E. and found online at www.facebook.com/Sugar-Daddy-Cheesecakes.