Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Goss.
Heather, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I would say it started with a sassy 5 year old girl, an easy bake oven, a grandma that was determined to teach me how to bake/cook before she passed, and a mom that always encouraged my creativity. All that lead to treat making as a teen, ice cream cakes in my late teens, to custom cake orders in my 20’s. I worked at various restaurants helping in the kitchen. I worked in one the best bakeries in the world in my 30’s where I learned a lot! I managed a dessert food truck a bit after that and met someone I look up to in the same food truck lot which led me to making raviolis and sauces for her food truck for a bit. While working there I made so many friends, so I started making decorated cookies for all of them. They encouraged me to do a pop up, so I did and would you believe me if I told you I sold out in 1 hour? My husband jumped in to help and then he never left! Now he’s my dough maker, barista, handyman and pretty much whatever I need from him. He is definitely a huge part of Kook’i, and I couldn’t do any of it without him! Once he came on we kind of went hard with markets after that which led to being in grocery stores, then a food truck and now the store front!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think that’s what makes our story so special. We’ve actually had our share of misfortunes- including a huge theft our first week open as a food truck. It was a huge blow. We’re blessed with an amazing community that showed out and came together for us to pick us back up on our feet. It was so heartwarming to see.
We’ve also dealt with a kitchen that had no air conditioning that was on the second floor of an old building. Not only was it hard to work in those conditions physically, but we lost so much product due to over proofing from the heat. Dough would literally melt at times!
Food truck life isn’t easy. We have dealt with moving into our dream permanent spot and then been told a month later we would have to move because the fire marshal claimed there were too many trucks in that lot. For a while we could only find seasonal spots after that.
We’ve had business deals go sour, ovens break, pipes break and floors flood. There has been lots of heartbreak and uncertainty at times, but we definitely believe it all led us to where we are now. Having a storefront location has been another dream come true for us and couldn’t be more proud of where we are now.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
People know us for our southern styled kolaches, shortbread and sweet rolls, which sell out frequently! I think what we are known for and what sets apart from others is our wit, humor and charm when it comes to our decorated cookies. Many have quotes like “don’t be a dick” or “buy cookies, not crack.” One has a picture of a cute pelican on it that says “just because you pelican, doesn’t mean you pelishould” or other fun ones like “please support my small cookie business because I’m not built for only fans.” People also know us for our detailed custom cookie art as well. We are pretty confident we can do any theme, design or technique! Piping, hand painting, printing, drawing and airbrushing.
I think the thing I’m the most proud of is never giving up! We started with nothing, not even a business plan. So many said it could never happen. We are literally doing what so many said would never happen for us. I think blocking those people out, keeping our heads down and hands busy, believing in each other and believing in our company/product is clear proof you can do anything if you work hard while not losing faith. I’m also very proud of our relationship with our community…we love them so much, They’ve had our backs even when it was hard to have our own.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Making others happy makes me happy. People making others happy makes me happy. My kids. My husband. Animals. Cooking. Baking. Parades. Hiking. Karaoke. My family. Love in any form.
Pricing:
- Cookies and pastries priced from $4-$8
- Custom order pricing varies by design/size
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kookicompany.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kookicentraloregon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kookicentralor
