Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Brusa.
Hi Jen , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2015 I was a single mom of three boys who had just left a domestic violence marriage. I was on a food-share program and received a flat of blackberries. Not wanting them to go to waste, I made a blackberry cheesecake as a thank-you gift for my son’s teachers. Word of mouth spread fast, and what started as a simple gift turned into a side hustle selling cheesecakes to friends, family, and neighbors.I never planned to start a business, but it kept growing. With help from a Kickstarter, we opened our first brick-and-mortar shop in downtown Silverton, Oregon, in August 2019. Then the lockdowns hit. We chose to stay open, and that decision brought unexpected media attention (including a segment on Fox & Friends and an interview with Kirk Cameron). Those orders helped keep us afloat during a very hard time.Around the same period I met my husband Makai. We got married in December 2020, and he’s been beside me ever since—helping with everything from mopping floors to running the business side. Together we’ve grown Beloved Cheesecakes from that first small shop into a family-owned, woman-led company with locations in Canby and Albany (we now own the Albany building). We make everything from scratch, offer gluten-free, sugar-free, keto, and vegan options, and ship nationwide. We’ve been named Best Dessert in the Willamette Valley multiple years running.What began with one cheesecake in a kitchen has become a way to serve our community and share a little bit of heaven with people across the country. God has been in every step of this story
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not been a smooth road.I started as a single mom of three boys who had just left a domestic violence marriage. We had very little. The first cheesecake came from a flat of blackberries I got through a food-share program because I didn’t want them to go to waste. Turning that into a real business while raising three boys was constant hard work—long hours, tight money, and a lot of uncertainty.Then COVID hit right after we opened our first shop, at the same time our region was dealing with massive wildfires. We chose to stay open so we could keep providing for our family and our customers. That decision brought both support and a lot of backlash. Between the lockdowns, the fires, smoke, and the uncertainty of everything, there were days it felt heavy and scary. Those same hard months also brought unexpected orders and media attention that helped us survive.Even after things stabilized, growth brought new struggles: moving locations, buying our Albany building, dealing with permits and renovations, hiring and training people, and figuring out how to ship cheesecake across the country without it melting. Every step has required grit.What has carried us is faith, family, and the people who kept showing up—customers, friends, and my husband Makai, who stepped in and helped carry the load. The road has been full of obstacles, but each one has shaped the business into what it is today.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Beloved Cheesecakes is a woman-owned, family-led bakery that specializes in scratch-made, award-winning cheesecakes using high-quality ingredients. We offer a variety of flavors year-round (Salted Caramel is our bestseller), plus gluten-free, sugar-free, keto, and vegan options. People can enjoy a slice in our Canby or Albany shops or order whole cakes for pickup, delivery, or nationwide shipping.We’re known for classic flavors done really well and for the care that goes into every cake. We’ve been named Best Dessert in the Willamette Valley multiple years in a row.What I’m most proud of is that this started as one cheesecake made in my kitchen as a gift, and it has grown into a real business that supports our family and employs people from all walks of life. I’m also proud that we’ve been able to stay true to making everything from scratch and serving our local communities while growing.What sets us apart is the combination of quality and heart. We’re not a big chain. We’re a small woman-owned, family-led business that makes every cake by hand, cares about the details, and has a story rooted in faith, grit, and community. People tell us they can taste the difference, and that matters to us.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up in a very hard environment. My parents divorced when I was little, and I lived with my dad, who was a meth addict. I had no mom in my life and no siblings. One of my earliest memories is waking up at five years old in the middle of the night with an ear infection—pain so bad it was unbearable—and my dad was gone. That was normal. I was often left alone for days.There was emotional, physical, and sexual abuse from my dad and the people around him. In fifth grade a teacher reported what she saw, and Child Services removed me. I later lived with my biological mom for a while, but that wasn’t safe either. She resented me, and she kicked me out about a month before I turned 17. Her last words to me were that I would never graduate high school, I would end up a pregnant teenager, and I would never amount to anything.I was determined to prove her wrong. I was quiet, responsible beyond my years, and stubborn. I learned early how to survive, how to make something out of nothing, and how to keep going even when things were unstable or painful. I didn’t have a lot of typical childhood interests or security, but that same grit and refusal to quit stayed with me. It later helped me leave a violent marriage as an adult, go back to school, and build Beloved Cheesecakes from a single cheesecake made in my kitchen.Looking back, the shy, abused little girl from that childhood would never have believed she would one day own a business, employ people, and share something good with so many others. The contrast between where I started and where we are now is part of why this story matters to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.belovedcheesecakes.com
- Instagram: beloved.cheesecakes
- Facebook: beloved cheesecakes
- LinkedIn: beloved cheesecakes
- Twitter: beloved cheesecakes
- Youtube: Beloved Cheesecakes
