Charlotte pastry chef’s Honeybear Bake Shop ships cookies to your door during COVID-19
Hannah Neikirk is a sparkling fiancee. A cat mom. A pastry chef. And the proud owner of her very own new cookie business.
Neikirk has flourished in notable pastry positions around Charlotte, from 5Church to Big View Bakery and a luxury hotel. When COVID-19 left her furloughed, she took the opportunity to start her own business — a cookie shipping service called Honeybear Bake Shop, named for a term of endearment given to her by her fiance, Ethan Neville.
Now, you can get classic favorites such as chocolate chip delivered to your door, along with Neikirk’s own twists, including hazelnut chocolate crunch, New York Cheesecake, blueberry muffin, confetti and cinnamon roll (the crowd favorite), among more.
“I feel bad saying this, but if it were not for COVID-19, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It hasn’t always been roses and daisies during this crazy year and transition, but I believe everything happens for a reason,” Neikirk said. “I have stayed positive because I am so excited to be able to finally pursue my dreams.”
Following in mom’s footsteps
As a child, Neikirk could always be found experimenting with recipes in her mom’s kitchen.
“I have been baking my whole life, ever since I remember. I never wanted to pursue another career and always had my mind on becoming a pastry chef,” Neikirk said. “I fell in love with the Food Network growing up and would run home from elementary school to watch Sweet Dreams with Gale Gand every day at 3:30. That is when I really started loving baking.”
In this case, the (candy) apple didn’t fall far from the tree — her mom had a cookie business while Neikirk was young.
“She would sell cookies online, and her and my dad would be in the kitchen baking cookies into the late hours of the night. Now it’s special to me that I am pursuing the same thing with my fiance. It holds a super special place in my heart.”
To make her pastry chef dreams a reality, Neikirk received her baking and pastry degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Upon graduating, she accepted a position at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia before moving to Vail, Colorado, where she worked her way to assistant pastry chef at The Sebastian Vail hotel.
Neikirk moved to Charlotte in 2014 and began to make her mark on the city as a pastry chef at 5Church, where she oversaw dessert production between 5Church and Nan and Byrons. She also helped open 5Church’s location in Charleston, S.C.
After three years with the 5Church group, Neikirk moved to the Big View Bakery, where she created its weekend doughnut program — it was an instant success and started selling at Rush Espresso locations. Then in 2018, she transitioned into the pastry sous chef position at a luxury hotel in Charlotte, where she remained until her resignation in July 2020.
Taking the leap to pursue her dreams
Neikirk’s choice to resign was not a decision she took lightly, but her life’s goal was to own her own bakery.
“I was just always scared to make the jump and go out on my own. I always felt safe working for someone else,” she said.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Neikirk was furloughed from her position at the hotel — a reality that affected many hospitality employees in Charlotte and beyond. She picked up work for Shipt grocery delivery on the side but had plenty of time to think about her future.
Neikirk noticed that she started baking at home again, which she never used to do after long work weeks.
“I felt like I had my passion back. I am the happiest I have been in a while,” Neikirk said. “I love being able to have a flexible schedule and have been able to spend a lot of time with family and friends, which is something I never used to have.”
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While the decision to leave was anything but easy, Neikirk credits Neville in nudging her in this new direction. Neville is a cinematographer and animator who’s seen great success with his own video production company, The Animist Films.
“I am very thankful I have an amazing support system at home,” she said.
The perfect recipe for Honeybear Bake Shop
“When thinking of starting a bakery, I wanted to do something that Charlotte does not really have. To me, that is a unique cookie shop with amazing, unique flavors,” Neikirk said.
Neikirk drew inspiration from other cookie shops that she follows on Instagram, like Hifi Cookies in Nashville, and wanted to create something similar in the Queen City.
“I am very thankful I wanted to start this passion of mine after the grocery stores were restocked. I am glad I didn’t start this when you couldn’t even find a bag of flour,” she said.
Now, her only obstacle is a slightly-too-small mixer. Which we can absolutely understand, because bigger mixers mean more cookies. And, really, can you think of anything more comforting than a homemade cookie?
To remedy the space obstacle, Neikirk signed with The City Kitch in its new West End location.
What’s better than a cinnamon roll? A cinnamon roll cookie.
To perfect her recipes, Neikirk takes familiar flavors and then adds her own twist.
“I once worked under a pastry chef, Amy Andrews, who encouraged me to work on specials for the restaurant where we worked. She always told me when creating a dessert, you always need to think about the texture, flavor, taste and design,” Neikirk said. “I use that mentality with all the desserts I create. So even though I just make cookies, I put a lot of thought into each one.
Neikirk gets flavor inspiration everywhere: TV shows, trips to the grocery store, her family. Her sister loves chocolate chip cookies, which have morphed into “Sarah’s Chocolate Chip.” Her mom, on the other hand, wanted a peanut butter cookie filled with peanut butter flavor — and no chocolate. Neikirk rose to the challenge by creating a peanut butter cookie stuffed with peanut butter cream filling. (OK mom, we’re on board with this.)
Right now, she plans to start slow by selling the cookies via Instagram until the end of the year, and then plans to expand into farmers markets and coffee shops. Of course, she dreams of owning a brick-and-mortar spot one day.
That may come sooner than she thinks: Neikirk baked over 250 cookies in nine different flavors just for her first week of boxes. By the middle of last week, she already had 40 orders.
“Whenever we do get to a point of a brick and mortar, it will be decorated heavily in cute cat décor,” Neikirk said. “Not the creepy crazy cat lady decor, but cute cartoon cats and fun pastel colors.”
Ready to order? Here are the details
For the time being, Neikirk is taking orders via Instagram until her new site is live. Flavors will rotate weekly based on seasonality, but there are a few set flavors.
Weekly boxes are announced on Sunday and the deadline to order is Wednesday evening by 9 p.m. Cookie boxes are available for pickup or shipping on Fridays. Pickup locations will be announced via Instagram weekly.
If you opt for pickup, you can get a half dozen for $15 or bump it up to a dozen for $30. Shipping costs vary, check the website (which will be live Aug.30) for details. Neikirk will also prepare custom orders with a five-day notice and will ship boxes out of state (minus the cookies with melt-prone toppings).
Honeybear Bake Shop
Pickup/shipping only
To order: Send DM via Instagram. Website coming soon.
Instagram: @honeybearbakeshop
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 10:26 AM.
