By Karen Turko-Ebright
Contributing Writer
She set out to be a nurse.
Instead, she took another path.
Now, Maddie Pape, a 19-year-old graduate of Delton Kellogg High School (Class of 2022), will swing open the doors of her own business on Saturday in the Gun Lake area.
Maddie’s Cookies & Cream, located at 11937 Marsh Rd., will make its debut when doors open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 1.
Pape’s inspiration to bake came from her great grandma.
“For sure — yes, I love to bake, but making cookies is my favorite,” Pape said. “My Grandma Toby was always the cookie maker and made the best cookies, so I was blessed to have her and get her recipes.”
Pape’s mom, Kate, said she was not surprised her daughter decided to run a baking business.
“This is what she’s been wanting to do. She thought about being a nurse. She got her Certified Nursing Assistant license, and she started that, but she’s always loved baking,” she said, adding that Pape spent a lot of time baking during COVID.
“We would do Facebook baking live with her brothers. So, that was fun, but since then, she’s loved to bake.”
Pape’s specialty is baking cookies. She caught the baking bug from her Great Grandma Toby and Grandma Kelli when she was a little girl.
“My grandma was a cookie baker, and Maddie adored her. I think my grandma inspired Maddie to bake,” Pape’s mom said. “I knew this was what she wanted to do, but who knew this would be so fast? It happened so soon to get her own little brick-and-mortar business going.”
Unfortunately, Great Grandma Toby, 81, died in June of 2021 after a five-year battle with Multiple Myeloma.
Kate said her mom, Grandma Kelli, constantly influenced Pape’s life.
“My mom would watch her when I worked,” Kate said. “She would be in the kitchen with grandma. She loved anything to do with grandma.”
During the pandemic, Pape found joy in baking. After that, she started her own online business, Bake My Day.
“I’ve always liked to bake, but I really found my love doing it in COVID,” Pape said.
Pape’s mom is her biggest fan.
“She makes her cookies from scratch,” Kate said. “Her cookies are big fat cookies. They’re delicious.”
Before it was Maddie’s Cookies & Cream, it was Bake My Day. The latter was her online business, but she traded it in for brick-and-mortar adjacent to the south side of the Citgo Gas Station on Gun Lake.
Jespreet Nannan and his father, Dave Nannan, owners of the Citgo Gas Station on Gun Lake, bought their business in 2015 and opened on July 4. Pape and her mother approached Jespreet Nannan about a vacant space attached to his gas station in mid-March.
When they proposed their idea of Maddie’s Cookies & Cream, Jespreet could not refuse.
“No store is going to complain about baking smells in their store. That’s never going to be a bad smell, said Jespreet. “I have known Maddie and her brothers for years. I watched Maddie grow up. She’s a good kid. They are good people. I am so happy for them.”
A new business is a far cry from where Pape started baking her cookies, though.
“When I graduated, I started baking out of my parent’s house, then I finally made a Facebook page selling them,” said Pape, who soon realized her online business started growing fast.
“I had a great opportunity to rent this place and bake out of it, so I took it,” Pape added. “I also had always grown up with my grandma Kelli and great grandma Toby baking. They’re amazing bakers, and I also found my love of baking from doing it through them.”
Since she switched to her new business on Gun Lake, Pape no longer has her Bake My Day shop online. However, customers can still order cookies online and pick them up in the store. Pape said she would have various cookies already baked and ready for walk-in customers.
Pape and her family started renovating the space in April and spent three months remodeling it for opening day on July 1.
“I was super excited when I was told I could! They’re such good people and want me to go far with what I’m doing,” Pape said. “They both work at the gas station here and there.”
The Nannans own another Citgo in Delton.
Jespreet said the space has been vacant for two years but previously was occupied by a sub shop and another food business. He said he’s looking forward to Maddie’s Cookies & Cream moving next to his store.
Maddie’s Cookies & Cream will offer over 30 cookies, including added holiday options. Plus, Pape offers MOO-ville hand-dipped ice cream with different flavors weekly.
Hours at Maddie’s Cookies and Cream are from noon to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays and from noon to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and closed on Mondays.
Customers can also search for the shop on Facebook.
“I plan to stay open all year round,” Pape said. “I’m hoping maybe to do coffee in the winter— still not for sure on that idea, but I’d love to do it.”
PHOTO CAPTION:
Maddie Pape’s friends and family help renovate her new shop, Maddie’s Cookies & Cream. Picture are (from left) Maija Crosby, Maddie Pape, Maddie’s dad Link Pape, brother Brock Pape, brother Cole Pape, mom Kate Pape, Holly Opps and Todd Kroes. (Photos provided)
