b"world, and how to cope with small- lean into this and make it one of ourIt was a really lovely group business entrepreneurship during thedistinguishing qualities. GSK was fea-a nice community there. pandemic.tured on The Today Show for a seg- Its a great way to network Currently,classesareallremote.ment about their success in providingwith different people.If we have 50 people sign up, we dospace for ghost kitchens which expe- After doing business out a presentation format. But if we haverienced growth during the pandemic. ofGSKforayear,Leahy five people show up, then we can doJust over three years from its found- movedThreeDaughters an interactive hands-on type of thing,ing,GSKcanboastaboutsuccess- BakingintotheGen-says Basko. Of course, theyd prefer toful businesses that have since movederalStoreCooperativeon be live in their building. Like everyon from their comfortable incubator.Springfield Avenue in Ma-other food business, were making theMaplewoods Erica Leahy was alreadyplewood.Shenowworks most of it, she adds. a seasoned veteran of the restaurant in- exclusivelyoutofGen-Whenthepandemicarrived,dustry, having worked with star chefseralStoreCooperatives OhlethwantedtoensurethatGSKDaniel Boulud, Karen DeMasco, andkitchen.Ididacouple would continue to support the foodTomColicchio,beforewantingtoofthepop-upshopswith entrepreneurs. The food industry wasopen her own baked goods and savory[Deborah Engel and Amy arguablyoneofthemostdisruptedfoodbusiness.Aftermakingcelebra- Howlett,foundersofthe ofanyofthesectorsinourregion.tioncakesandholidaydessertsforGeneralStoreCoopera-So many chefs were displaced. Manylocal friends and neighbors in Maple- tive]. When they wanted to newopportunitiescameoutofthatwood and South Orange, Leahy set uptake on a permanent loca-hardshipand everyone needed theshop in the early days of GSK to of- tion, it seemed like a good platform. So here we were, really hit- ficially start Three Daughters Baking. next step for me because it ting our stride because wed been openLeahy reached out to Ohleth evenwasnttakingonmyownPamela Beardslee makes her all-natural ice pops and about a year and a half [when the pan- before GSK was ready to open. It waslocation, she says. I couldruns her company, Puras Paletas, out of Garden State demic began], she says. Weve out- a little difficult to find something thattakeanotherbabystepinKitchen. Photo by Julia Maloof Verderosa.fittedourfrontvestibulesodeliverywas convenient and [also] reasonablythedirectionofmybusi-drivers can have an easy pickup andpriced, says Leahy. The two kept inness. Getting the retail location was really the next step for us.reallyareleaningintothatconcept.touch, which led to Leahy becomingAnd Ohleth couldnt be happier for her. Erica was the model customer. She Many other kitchens dont even allowone of GSKs earliest clients. I was re- is bright, articulate, responsible, and thoughtful. Her food is deliciousand we people to come pick things up there.ally able to start growing and expand- were lucky to have her as one of our first because shes also super experienced, But we decided were really going toing by being at Garden State Kitchen.she says. Having Ericas guidance and mentorship meant as much to us as she said the kitchen meant to her. Shes graduated to her own deli-cious bakery over at [General Store Cooperative]. Three Daugh-ters is one of our biggest success stories.While Ohleth lives in Morris County and is busy advancing offshore wind policy as her day job, spending time at GSK and surrounding herself with food entrepreneurs gives her great joy. If Im ever having a bad day, I say to my husband, Im just go-ing to go work at the kitchen, she says. Theres always some-body there who is doing something awesome. Donny Levit is a writer and Maplewood resident. He is the author of Rock n Roll Lies, 10 Stories. You can hear him DJ his indie rock show Under the Influence and his jazz show Kind of Pool on Bone Pool Radio. Follow him on Instagram @undertheinfluenceradio and @kindofpoolradio. New customers can save 10% on their first order fromColorfulKitchen Delivery with this code: MATTERSMAG10ToorderfromThree Daughters Baking, visit their website using this QR code.Erica Leahy, owner of Three Daughters Baking, was one of Garden State Kitchen's earliest clients. She now operates out of the General Store Cooperative.feature story /37"