Athena Sippel

Written By Thomas Claesen
 
 

Athena never expected to be an entrepreneur. She started her career as a pastry chef and home economics major. She married, became the mother of three and was happily raising her family in Indio, California. When the coffee crazy kicked off in the US, a chance encounter at Gelson’s Supermarket’s new coffee bar dropped a new business in Athena’s lap. The owner was talking about how he needed a low fat raspberry muffin. “I make a great one,” she said. “If you can do a low fat red raspberry muffin, you can have the whole bakery case,” the owner responded.

Athena went home and made her first muffin dough batch and sold it to the store where they would bake them fresh. Quickly she started selling 100 10 pound buckets a week and she expanded to selling to other premium grocery stores. Soon AJ’s Fine Foods and Wholefoods California became customers. She was preparing cookie dough, scone dough, and muffin dough literally by the truck loads.

Originally called Scoop & Bake, she changed her company to be called The Kid’s Business. It was why she was proud to create this unexpected business. She could see early she was preparing not only a legacy but a business for her kids and family to thrive through.

Looking for a vertical option for their baked goods, they created TKB Deli next to their wholesale bakery. By this time her husband and three kids were working full time on the business as well.

Running a family business is hard. Five strong, independent and passionate people working together in any circumstances can be a challenge, then layer on top that you’re all family who spends 24-7 together in and outside of work. But they love their business. They love providing the best customer service possible to their community and those who stop in for a visit. They put in the work wherever it mattered - communication courses, leadership development, business workshops, new books to read, etc. They knew the success of their family business would depend upon the space they created and the energy they put into it. Of course it helped that they make all their bread, bakery items and more fresh daily. The food is outstanding and the customer service is even better. Then in 2018 they became the #1 Eatery in the U.S. on Yelp.


To follow, support, and connect with Athena:

Thomas Claesen

Owner & designer at Clawsun. Originally from Belgium, but now located in Nashville, TN. Drumline instructor in my free time.

https://clawsundesign.com
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Melina Sippel