Cheesecakes? How did it start? Well…. in 2009 LeAnn and Joseph wed and along with that came a cookbook passed down over four generations of LeAnn’s family. The cookbook or as we call it the “Bake Book”, had secret family recipes that have been handed down as a wedding gift. Over the first few years of marriage Le’ Ann made cheesecakes for all of her family and friends from the recipe in the book with a couple of changes to add her own spin to it and was told one thing over and over again, “You need to start selling these!”. So finally one day LeAnn and Joseph decided it was time, after hearing a personal account of another couple being told the same thing and how well they have done since decided to just go for it.
At that moment LeAnn quit her job and Joseph put his other business on hold and both dove into making cheesecakes and other great desserts. From finding a kitchen to rent to getting the proper inspections and certifications, the following few weeks were a blur of running around and figuring what next to do and cover before they could bake and sell their product. Once they had found a kitchen and finished all the paper work the true test came. Could they go from making a cheesecake once in a while, to making dozens in a day and pull it off? Well the first time wasn’t all as planned and ended up being a long…. long…. night with falling asleep on a couch in the office of the kitchen and then waking up to airplanes landing and taking off next door, by any means it was a fun and memorable night to start things off.
From there they found different local Farmers markets throughout the Tampa Bay area to promote, advertise, and sample their products to the many different consumers that would visit and shop local to see what great items that were being produced right in their local areas.
After establishing themselves for Cheesecakes, Joseph wanted to add to the menu. The best way he knew how was with a cannoli! Over the years he was always disappointed in the quality of a cannoli found around the Tampa Bay area and wanted to change that, and show a good cannoli wasn’t hard to find. He then went a created his own recipe after going through many old recipes with trial and error he found the perfect combination of flavors to have a true classic cannoli. Now with these two great desserts in their line up the couple also needed to find a location to be based out of and where consumers could find them during the week and a place to pick up last minute desserts.
Around this time they came in contact with another great couple who also baked, but this time cookies! They then found out that they were going to open a daily market right in the heart of Ybor City. After talking it over they decided this was the right location and right group of people to join in their journey to make a daily fresh market work right in their back yard. Being raised in Brandon his whole life, Joseph has seen Ybor go through all its changes over the last 20+ years. We are glad to be part of the new community that is growing there right now and for the years to come. The Ybor Daily Market is located at 1920 E. 7th Ave in the heart of the Historic Ybor District one block south of the Centennial Park trolley stop!
Along side Pending Coffee, Le’ Anns Cheesecakes ‘N More serves desserts right from behind the bar of the old “Frankie’s Patio” to guest, no wait…. our friends, that come and enjoy the atmosphere of comedy shows, live music, free art classes, community gardens, and amazing sunsets over looking Ybor City and Downtown Tampa. Whether you are in Ybor for a show, dinner, or just a night out on the town make sure you stop by and say hi and grab a cup of coffee and dessert, along with seeing what else is being made locally by the great artist and producers in your area.
After settling into the market in Ybor, LeAnn and Joseph continued their idea of making great cheesecake available everywhere and making it portable and easy to enjoy. After many different attempts, they came across the idea of baking a cheesecake slice right into a jar. The purpose of this “jar” you ask? Well, it’s to insulate the cold cheesecake and keep it from melting in the Florida sun and heat. Armed with this idea, they started to approach some restaurants and delivery places to see if they could help provide great dessert options to their customers whether dine-in, take-out, or delivery. Soon after they had partnered with a few restaurants in the Tampa area and found that they were right!
The next step was they partnered with a local restaurant food delivery service, Mobile Meals, to provide delivery service for their desserts throughout most of the extended Tampa/Brandon area. So now customers can order from the comfort of their homes and have their cheesecakes, cannoli and other great desserts brought right to their front door!!!
For this is just the beginning!!! Make sure to check out our participating restaurants and venues page for a current list of where you can get different varieties of our cheesecakes.
Check out our facebook page for more updates and dont forget to go to Mobile Meals to have our desserts delivered to you!
I met with your rep at the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Show Sept 16th in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center. We were supposed to receive some samples of your cheesecake, but nothing has arrived yet. Please let me know when we can expect them so we can see about ordering from your company. Thank you.