Making cheesecakes was a hobby for Michael Vespa while growing up in New Jersey. As he got older, he would still make them for family and friends, simply known as Michael\u2019s cheesecake.<\/p>\n
The hobby eventually turned into Sweetie\u2019s Cheesecakes<\/a>, a cheesecake shop and catering business, in north Fort Worth.<\/p>\n The company has been in operation since 2017 and celebrated its third anniversary July 27 at its location off Harmon Road.<\/p>\n The details<\/p>\n Michael Vespa finished college with an engineering degree and moved to Fort Worth. He was working in Plano when he found out he was part of a downsizing decision. A father of three, Vespa called his wife, Shannon, to let her know the news.<\/p>\n \u201cShannon and the kids knew I was miserable, so they prayed for me to lose my job, and I lost my job,\u201d he said. \u201cShannon was like, \u2018Come home, we\u2019ll start a business.’\u201d<\/p>\n Her idea was the same as the one she had years ago\u2014start selling his cheesecake. The business name came from the family\u2019s cat.<\/p>\n Vespa said he wanted to get away from selling large cheesecakes, instead settling on a single-serve cheesecake in a glass mason jar. He said it worked out nicely because his cheesecake recipe can be frozen in the glass jar.<\/p>\n He said he still had his doubts early on.<\/p>\n \u201cShannon loved the cheesecake, the family loved the cheesecake, but it\u2019s a different story when you go out there and try to sell it to somebody who doesn\u2019t know you,\u201d Michael Vespa said.<\/p>\n The answer came at a farmer’s market in Grapevine, which started the day after Thanksgiving. They sold out on the first day. He went to the market manager and said they were out of cheesecake and wouldn\u2019t be able to return the next day.<\/p>\n He said that moment turned Sweetie\u2019s Cheesecakes into something sustainable, and the family could start paying bills and grow.<\/p>\n Digging deeper<\/p>\n Sweetie\u2019s Cheesecakes attends several festivals throughout the year. Michael Vespa said the fall is the busiest season, from festivals to Ocktoberfest events to Christmas markets. He says they take anywhere from eight to 14 different cheesecake flavors to events.<\/p>\n Many of the festivals they have attended have sparked flavors such as mango habanero, peach moruga or chocolate reaper. There\u2019s also been one-off flavors like lavender cheesecake at the Blanco Lavender Festival<\/a>, an Irish cream cheesecake for the North Texas Irish Festival or an oatmeal caramel cheesecake for the Bertram Oatmeal Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n Each cheesecake is individually made and is handmade and hand-poured into the mason jars. Shannon Vespa says they touch the jar 11 times before it goes to a customer, from putting on labels to hand-spooning in berries or fruits.<\/p>\n