This month marks 18 years of Sheer Ambrosia Bakery.

I started Sheer Ambrosia in October 2008 under a Cottage Food License, making baklava from my home.

Back then, this business was tiny, and I wore just about every hat there was to wear. I made the baklava. I shopped for ingredients. I packaged orders. I answered emails. I made deliveries. I handled the social media. I took the photographs. I worked events. I talked to customers. And, like so many small business owners, I figured out a whole lot of things simply because they needed to be done.

For many of those years, I was also raising my two kiddos as a single mom, working another job, sometimes two, while continuing to build Sheer Ambrosia.

I kept going.

In 2013, I took Sheer Ambrosia out of my home and into a commercial bakery for the first time. We stayed there until 2016, when I made the difficult decision to sell the space and move the business back into my home.

But that wasn't the end of the story. Years later, I decided to try again.

In August 2023, we began building another commercial bakery, and in January 2024, Sheer Ambrosia moved out of my home once again and into the bakery we're in today.

And somewhere along the way, “I” became “we.”

Today, Sheer Ambrosia has a small team, including two amazing women from Iraq who work alongside me making, packaging, and growing this business.

After so many years of doing so much of it myself, having a team beside me means more than I can adequately put into words.

Earlier this year, Sheer Ambrosia was named Best Dessert in Salt Lake City. That recognition meant so much to us, but not because we needed another title to hang on the wall.

It meant more people discovered us.

More people learned that this little bakery exists. More people walked through our door. More people tasted our baklava. And for a small business like ours, that kind of awareness matters enormously.

Which brings me to the favor I'm asking of you...

We did our very first "Grand Opening" at my gym and my sister and friends were there to support me. Can you pick out which one is my sis?

The Sheer Ambrosia October Review Drive

THE SHEER AMBROSIA OCTOBER REVIEW DRIVE

As we head into the holiday season, I want to help more people discover Sheer Ambrosia. And one of the simplest and most meaningful ways you can help us do that is by leaving us a Google review.

If you've ordered our baklava, visited the bakery, sent one of our gift boxes, or shared Sheer Ambrosia with someone you love, would you take a minute or two to tell others about your experience?

Your review does so much more than add another star to a page.

It helps someone searching for dessert in Salt Lake City find us.

It helps someone looking for a holiday gift discover a small local bakery they might otherwise never know existed. It gives someone who has never tasted our baklava the confidence to walk through our door for the first time. And it helps bring the kind of awareness to Sheer Ambrosia that a small business needs to keep its doors open, employ people, grow, and hopefully be here for another 18 years.

Even competing for Best Dessert in Salt Lake City again next year depends on new Google Reviews. The recognition is wonderful, but the real prize is being discovered by people who didn't know we were here.

If you've already left Sheer Ambrosia a Google review, thank you. Truly. You don't need to do another thing.

And whether you leave a review or not, thank you for being part of these first 18 years.

Every order. Every referral. Every gift you've sent. Every kind word. Every time you've told somebody, “You have GOT to try this baklava.”

It all matters.

Eighteen years ago this month, Sheer Ambrosia was one woman making baklava in her home while raising two children, working other jobs, and trying to build something she believed in.

We've moved out of my home, moved back in, and moved out again.(Sheer Ambrosia is like a real kid! Ha! Ha! )

And today, there's a little team standing beside me. We're still here.

I'd really like to keep it that way.

Thank you for helping us keep going.

With love and gratitude,

Rita

Founder of the Baklava Love Fest we lovingly call...

Sheer Ambrosia Bakery

What you ordered this month, and every month, is more than something sweet. It’s what keeps Sheer Ambrosia alive and thriving. Your support means everything. Thank you for choosing small, and for being part of our story.

-Peace, Love, and Baklava Forever,

Rita Magalde