Sweet Mary’s Bakery
76 E. Mill St., downtown
234-706-6088
Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
sweetmarysbakery.com
When you visit Sweet Mary’s Bakery, one of the first things you notice are the signs in the windows.
One states, “Stop Shooting Black People. Thanks.” Another reads, “End White Supremacy.” One thing is certain, owner Mary Hospodarsky is confident about using her business as a platform to speak out against injustice.
“Especially after this past election cycle, not a lot of businesses were expressing the frustration that a lot of people were feeling,” she said. “But because we are a small business, we leaned into it, and our customers responded to it.”
In the display case at Sweet Mary’s, next to sweet and savory croissants, colorful macarons, pies of the week and cheesecakes, customers will find sugar cookies frosted with phrases such as “Black Lives Always Matter” and “No Body likes J.D. Vance.” There are Ohio-shaped cookies that read “Welcome to Akron,” where the capital A is an orange construction cone sinking into a pothole.
“Sometimes we make snarky cookies,” she said. “But it’s all in an effort to uplift people who tend to be marginalized. That’s our big thing: making sure people can feel seen and heard.”
Hospodarsky, who grew up in Akron, was working at Sterling Jewelers (now Signet) when she and a coworker started baking Christmas cookies at home for their office. Demand grew, and office mates started placing orders for cookie trays.
After taking a business workshop, she thought, “I can actually do this,” so — still working full-time — she began baking in a church kitchen and then in a commercial kitchen. Hospodarsky knew the next step was to hire staff and open a shop.
In December of 2015, Sweet Mary’s Bakery opened on East Mill Street in downtown Akron. Hospodarsky makes the business decisions while her husband, Justin — as she puts it — is a “silent partner, my sounding board and my adviser” as well as “the general handyman.”
“My husband was really instrumental in making sure we took things at the right pace,” she said. “His plan was to build up our customer base, and my knowledge base, as much as possible before we took on too much overhead.”
Nearly a decade later, Sweet Mary’s is thriving, with new customers and regulars who stop by for a pastry and a cup of coffee on their way to work. The store uses freshly roasted beans from Akron Coffee Roasters to make drip coffee and espresso as well as seasonal lattes and mochas.
In addition to sweet treats, Sweet Mary’s offers savory selections such as quiches, soups and sandwiches made on bread baked fresh that morning. The bakery has a small counter with seating that overlooks East Mill Street and two cafe tables with chairs outside.
2nd place:
The West Side Bakery (2024 1st-place winner)
2303 W. Market St.
330-836-4101
Website: https://www.thewestsidebakery.com/
3rd place:
Reeves Cake Shop (2024 3rd-place winner)
2770 Cory Ave.
330-848-1036
Website: https://reevescakeshop.com/
