NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — The story behind Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods is about more than cookies.
At her bakery, customers are greeted by the smell of fresh baked goods and a menu that includes Janie Deegan’s invention, the pie crust cookie.
“I invented something called a pie crust cookie. The best bites of a pie. Not too much filling, no soggy crust,” Deegan said.
But Deegan said her business grew out of a difficult personal journey.
Asked what her life looked like 13 or 14 years ago, Deegan described struggling with addiction and homelessness.
“Yes. I say a shell of a person. Like, I was no person. I was in such a dark place, and it was like most addicts. It’s just the only tool I had towards, like, facing life was drugs and alcohol. Eventually, I was homeless. I didn’t climb out of that, but despair is not even the right word. You’re just, like, you’re void. And then, you know, something clicked in June 2013 and wanted a life. That first year, I thought I had nothing to contribute, but that’s why kind of, like, baking became… it was, like, meditative. And it was controlled. My life had been so undisciplined for so long that I needed to learn how to follow steps, and that’s what baking was. You know, I couldn’t look at you, but, like, if I could bring a cookie, it would give me this self-esteem and pride that I had never felt before,” she said.
Deegan said baking helped her rebuild confidence and eventually grow a small business. That business has since expanded with a new location on the Upper West Side.
Deegan also said she aims to create opportunities for others through her hiring practices.
“We have an open-door hiring policy. It’s like, I’m not looking just at your resume. I’m looking at, like, who you are. And so that means we’ve had people who are right out of prison. We have some people who are a former addict, and I’ll let what’s on your resume and your past experiences define, like, your potential,” she said.
Speaking about addiction and homelessness, Deegan said she hopes people look beyond stereotypes.
“Anytime I tell my story, people are like, that’s not you. Because we have this idea of, like, what an addict looks like, and it’s not like me. Addiction doesn’t spare anyone. What I look like in my worst moments isn’t truly who I am, just like the person you see on the street corner on the subway in their worst moments, like, isn’t who they are,” she said.
Today, Deegan’s story is reflected not only in the products she sells, but also in the opportunities she creates for others as her business continues to grow.
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