ORANGE PARK — At Debi’s Cheesecakes, you can rest assured that every palatable treat is all taste and no fluff.
It’s where desserts are crafted from scratch and infused with fresh ingredients and an abundance of love.
Debra Brundage puts her heart and soul into her work. Each gourmet cheesecake, truffle, wedding cake and cupcake is meticulously envisioned and baked to perfection in her pastry kitchen on 799 Blanding Blvd.
It’s hard to believe that baking wasn’t always her passion.
In fact, her ardor originally lied on the opposite side of business in marketing and public relations. But a freak accident in 2020 that left her immobile from the waist down, she said, changed everything.
She was bound to her bed for almost a year after being told she would never walk again. But she proved that wasn’t true.
One day while at home in her wheelchair, she began making French apple pies with her mother’s tried and true recipe. Rave reviews from everyone who tried it blossomed into requests for cheesecakes.
It took her about a year to develop her recipe.
“As things went on, I started feeling better and being able to get around [and] I started selling the cheesecakes,” she said.
She became known as the “Cheesecake Lady,” lugging a large SUV stacked to the rim with containers of various flavors and delicacies. When she was there, you just knew she was.
From Apple Caramel and Baklava to Banana Pudding and Candied Maple Bacon Bourbon Caramel cheesecakes, Brundage experiments with flavors frequently, all depending on what her customers crave.
As the only business in the Jacksonville-area offering cheesecake flurry cups -Brundage said it’s also one of her specialties. After its completion, the Baked and Blitzed are finely whipped into a smooth mixture and infused with rich flavors and fresh fruits, all without the crust. It’s then topped with whipped cream.
The bakery is open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays and for order pickup on Tuesdays through Fridays. Additionally, Brundage said she has begun selling wholesale.
When she initially moved to Jacksonville, her goal was to begin a community kitchen called Cater Haven, open for all bakers and business owners to build on their vision and serve the community. Previously working in marketing and public relations before her accident, Brundage said it was in her to help others.
After unsuccessful attempts, and when her dream seemed out of reach, she got rid of her LLC and almost gave up.
“That’s when I tell people, don’t ever give up on your dreams. Don’t ever feel that you can’t do something,” she said. “If you read my scripture it says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.’ And I was told I’d never walk again. Look at me.”
After searching for months, it seems as though everything came into place. She came across her current location at the Meadowlands Shopping Plaza last year. After renovations, she reinvented the quaint 800-square-foot building into the sea-themed bakery she thrives in today. Customers feel at home and like family.
“I value every soul that walks in here and I don’t dismiss them. And I don’t look at them as a dollar sign. I look at them with a need.”