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It all started with lemon drop cookies, Shankevia Dean said.

After finding herself jobless during her master’s degree program at Syracuse University, Dean knew she was going to have to scramble for income. She quickly realized she could start selling cookies, specifically her self-described “very soft and it’s got a little crunch around the edges” lemon cookies.

She started out by hand-delivering the cookies to customers before expanding to mason jar desserts — starting with banana pudding. The pudding was popular, so she expanded her mason jar dessert selection to include peach cobbler and strawberry shortcake.

“I started becoming the mason jar queen,” Dean said.

The delivery service was the predecessor to her newly opened bakery on South Salina Street, Kevi’s Treats, which now offers nearly 60 desserts. The space has an inviting brown-and-pink color scheme with photos of her baking hanging up throughout the room.

Though Kevi’s Treats is only open Thursdays and Fridays in order to accommodate Dean’s busy schedule, she has sold out every Friday since her July 1 opening.

During the school year, she is a social worker at OCM Boces, a school for adults and kids with disabilities. Her social work inspired her to start her own cooking classes five years ago in a rented kitchen at Grace Episcopal Church for kids in her community.

The classes are meant to be a safe space where kids of all abilities are able to learn practical kitchen skills, and kids can then bring desserts home to their families. Dean said she is a firm believer that it benefits kids with disabilities to not be “singled out” by having separate classes, so she worked on integrating students with learning disabilities into the classes.

“They need to be with general kids so they can see they’re normal as well,” Dean said. “They just have a little disability that hinders them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not successful as well. So I started putting them in these classes and it was a hit.”

The cooking classes have been on hiatus since Dean opened the bakery, but she said she plans to start up once-a-month classes in October.

Anya Wijeweera | Photo Editor

The classes start with students learning about safety in the kitchen before cooking a small meal and dessert. Dean said one of the kids’ favorite meals has been walking tacos — tacos put together in a chip bag so the students can shake up the food and eat it while walking.

In addition to being motivated by her background in social work, Dean said that her son inspires her to help other kids in the community. Her classes are not only “therapeutic” but practical because the classes allow kids to become self-sufficient when it comes to snacks and meals.

Latisha Harper, one of the bakery’s regulars, said Dean plays an important part in the community because she does everything with love. Harper said Dean “put in work,” so she’s happy people can come to Dean now, instead of Dean driving to them.

Though Dean’s bakery is not yet a year old, the community has taken notice. “She’s part of the community,” Harper said.

Mayor Ben Walsh attended Dean’s official ribbon cutting ceremony, and she won an award from the CenterState CEO Ambassadors, which is on display at the location.

“My community has stepped up and really supported me tremendously,” Dean said.

Since Dean’s bakery is still a new venture, she has a few volunteers who help her manage behind the counter and work the register. One of these volunteers, Demaris Seibles, is an old friend of Dean’s.

Seibles said she wasn’t surprised by Dean opening a bakery because Dean has cooked since she was young, and she used to spend time in the kitchen with her mother.

The bakery will reopen Sept. 17 with different hours to accommodate Dean’s work at the school. The fall hours will be Fridays from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Dean said the response and love she’s received so far “makes my heart feel good, it makes me happy.”

Published on August 29, 2021 at 10:49 pm

Contact Ashley: [email protected]