A Baltimore area entrepreneur hopes to find sweet success by turning a childhood treat into a business.
Nikki Lewis will sell a variety of rice krispies treats at
Mallow Munchies caf�. She'll spend about $50,000 to open the Rosedale dessert shop inside a strip mall at 8767 Philadelphia Rd.
She's giving the dessert an upgrade with ingredients like Belgian dark chocolate. The Trail Munch features dried cranberries and toasted pumpkin seeds while the Toffee Nut Munch is made with salted cashews and toffee. The desserts were named best sweet snack by Baltimore magazine last year.
Since cupcakes have been all the rage in recent years, fancy rice krispies treats should offer a good alternative for sweet tooths, Lewis says. The entrepreneur has made some inroads with restaurants, caf�s, and grocery stores. Whole Foods Market in the mid-Atlantic has agreed to sell the sweets. So far, the Whole Foods in Baltimore's Harbor East sells them, with others to follow.
Zeke's Coffee, Grilled Cheese & Co., Eddie's Market of Charles Village, and Milk and Honey Market Baltimore sell the confections as well. You can also find the treats at Baltimore area farmers' markets.
Lewis is raising some of the money to fund the caf� on Kickstarter.com, a website that allows individuals to raise money for creative projects.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Nikki Lewis