Who doesn’t love dessert? Westchester mom of three boys, Sarina Grady, is making it easy for locals to treat themselves with her new home baking business, Serenity Bakeshop.
Since launching late last year, Sarina has been delighting her customers with deliciously baked-to-perfection cookies, and this month, she’s looking forward to being a vendor for the first time at the Westchester Arts & Music Block Party!
Read this month’s business spotlight to learn more about Serenity Bakeshop and make sure to visit her booth on September 21 to pick up a dozen!
Q. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I grew up in Irvine and moved to L.A. in 1998 to attend UCLA, and have been an L.A. girl ever since! My family and I moved to Westchester in 2015 and it has been such a wonderful place to raise kids. We love the community and neighborhood feel here.
After graduating UCLA, I worked as a CPA for many years, but then left the corporate world to focus on raising our three boys. I launched Serenity Bakeshop in early 2024, as I didn’t want to return to the corporate world, and it was always a dream of mine to have my own cookie bakery. My other hobbies–besides baking, of course–include photography. I actually took classes for two years, which has really helped with starting my business as I can use those skills to photograph my products for my website! I also love to run, which is definitely needed now more than ever with all the cookies I eat; I am constantly taste-testing to make sure the products are just right. And in any other free time I have, I love spending time with my boys and watching them play basketball. We are a big basketball family and most of our weekends are spent in the gym, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Q. What inspired you to open your business?
A. I got into baking while working, as I would work long hours and baking became a form of self-care for me. I would create all kinds of recipes for cookies, muffins and breads, and give them to friends and family. I started baking even more after having my kids, especially creating healthy treats for them to enjoy. It was always a dream of mine to have some sort of small bakery one day–specializing in cookies because that is my favorite thing to bake–but I never really thought I could do it. However, after a lot of my friends and family kept suggesting to me that I should follow my passion, I finally decided to go for it and that is how Serenity Bakeshop came about!
Q. What makes Serenity Bakeshop unique?
A. I think Serenity Bakeshop is unique because I try to include something for everyone. I have a vegan cookie, which is amazing and most people can’t even tell it is vegan. The same goes for the sugar-free brownie bites on my menu; I use dates to replace the sugar for a naturally sweetened treat, but no one can even tell! I also have a gluten-free cookie for our friends who cannot digest gluten.
In addition to a lot of the popular cookie flavors out there, I also have a cardamom pistachio and toasted coconut cookie which reflect the flavors of my Indian culture. And I do a rotating flavor every couple of months, so my menu is always changing! I would say our best-selling cookies are the chocolate chip walnut, butter pecan, oatmeal cranberry walnut, chocolate brownie and vegan oatmeal. Although our new raspberry cookie is doing really well, too! For WAM, I plan to sell my top five to six best-selling cookies, which will definitely include the vegan oatmeal cookie and probably our new fall Reese’s candy cookie as it will be close to Halloween! I very much look forward to connecting with the community at this event!
Q. What are some of your favorite aspects of being an entrepreneur?
A. I think my favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur is that I can set my own work schedule and work around my kids’ schedules. As a mom of three young boys who are all athletes and extremely active, I don’t have a lot of free time right now. But I can fulfill orders and bake in the early mornings or when they are at school, and I love doing it, so it is an enjoyable activity for me to do when they are not around. I would say the most challenging aspect is marketing and keeping the business growing. I do have several repeat customers and do gain new customers by word of mouth, but since I don’t have a storefront, it can be challenging as an online business to let people know about the bakery.
Q. What does a typical workday look like for you as a home baker?
A. I typically check my emails in the morning to see what orders have come in during the prior 24 hours. Then I try to bake as many as I can after the kids are dropped off at school. For any orders that I complete, I will spend an hour or two delivering that afternoon. And for those not yet completed, I will make a list of what needs to be done the following morning. I try to fulfill all orders within 48 hours, unless it is a very large order that might require a little more time.
My typical clients include schools who need cookies for events, parents who order for birthday parties, and really just friends, and friends who refer me to other contacts who love cookies! Most of my business has been through referrals or word of mouth.
Q. What are some of your favorite local small businesses that you like to support?
A. As a small business owner, I love to support other small businesses, too! I love to buy books at The Book Jewel and also support a lot of the small restaurants in our area, such as Ayara Thai, LaRocco’s Pizza and Hacienda.
Craving a sweet treat? Visit serenitybakeshop.com or scan the QR code to check out their website and view their current cookie menu!