Starter Stories: Melanie Thorton & Two Sisters Bakery
Written & photographed by Margee Stanfield
Melanie Thorton had been working in healthcare for 25 years when she quit her job and bought a bakery with her sister.
She didn’t even know how to frost a cake.
Now Melanie and her sister, Abby, run the oldest bakery in Jackson: Two Sisters Bakery.
The 78-year-old bakery started out as Roes’ Petite Bakery in 1947, initially located at the corner of Campbell and North Highland where CVS now is. The bakery moved to the Hamilton Hill Shopping Center (where it still resides) in 1972. It was eventually bought by Shirley Wernimont and became Shirley’s Bakery in 1987.
Melanie’s mom worked for Shirley for around 20 years, and when Shirley had it for 22 years and was ready to retire, Abby got word of it.
“She called me one night and said ‘We should buy the bakery.’”
And they did. In the middle of COVID. On top of not having any background knowledge, it couldn’t have been a worse time. There were a million reasons to not take that crazy leap. When I asked Melanie what made her say ‘yes’ despite all of that, she just kind of shrugged, as if she was still wrapping her own head around it.
“There was just no denying that it was what we were supposed to do. I'm not a risk taker. I had worked for West Tennessee Healthcare for 18 years. I was very comfortable with my job,” Melanie explained. “My sister always wanted us to have a business together, and she just worked really hard at convincing me, I guess.”
Shirley stayed on for five months to teach them all of the recipes and the lay of the land. The learning curve took a couple of years.
“It was terrifying. We cried a lot the first year,” Melanie said. “There were a lot of obstacles and challenges, and we were limited in our skill sets that were almost non-existent.”
Eventually, the learning curve leveled out. Melanie went through CO.STARTERS, wanting to educate herself more on the business side of things.
“ I'm always wanting to learn more, and so it just looked like it entailed everything that I needed to know and learn and to grow. So I knew it was something that would be beneficial,” Melanie said.
Melanie was also a part of the most recent cohort of food-based businesses in the ScaleUp Kitchen program.
“ ScaleUp Kitchen has been amazing. There's a ton of workshops in ScaleUp Kitchen and it includes everything from budgeting your money to marketing to social media. I have a big fat notebook full of notes,” Melanie said. “It's great for networking and resources as well.”
Most people don’t realize the sheer volume of goods Two Sisters produces. Some people think it is just the two sisters running the show, but there are about ten employees to manage the workload. The weekend prior to when I talked with Melanie they did 72 dozen custom cookies and 27 custom cakes in two days. That doesn’t even include all the treats you see in the display cases in the front of the store. It's been a challenge to learn how to cut off taking orders when.
“It took a minute for us to realize you don't wanna be the biggest, you just wanna be the best. At first we were so worried about growing again,” Melanie said. “Be consistent with what you have and keep going with that.”
Most of the bakery’s recipes haven’t changed. They’re preserving a nearly 80-year-old legacy, even if they have only recently been a part of it. I asked Melanie how they go about preserving this legacy.
“Not conforming to the pressures of the fads and trends,” she answered. “We know what works, what’s worked for years.”
They have adults who come and buy treats for their children now who came to the bakery when they were children. On one occasion, they did a 50th anniversary cake for one couple that bought their original wedding cake from the bakery.
“ I mean, that makes you feel pretty special and realize that you have a jewel here,” Melanie said.
While Melanie was stepping out of what she had known and done for 25 years, she stepped into something that had been constant for over half a century.
So, what’s next for Two Sisters Bakery? Simply continuing the legacy.
Stop in on your way home from work and get your family a treat, call them for your next birthday, and you’ll get a taste of why this bakery’s legacy has endured.
