Charlie’s Bakery & Creamery, formerly just Charlie’s Bakery, has been a part of the Orlando food landscape for more than 50 years and the new owner is looking to celebrate that milestone. Tricia Hage took over Charlie’s on Sept. 16, 2021, purchasing the bakery from Gary Hawks, the son of the founder Charlie Hawks.
“I grew up in the area,” Hage said. “My husband used to come here as a kid and we both love desserts and I’ve always been like one of the people that always made desserts. I was going to open my own ice cream store and have like a few of the items that I love to make, and Charlie’s Bakery came up for sale. It was just an opportunity I couldn’t resist.”’
Hage and her husband did not start out in the baking or ice cream business. They didn’t have food service experience before they scooped up Charlie’s. “My husband and I have been together since I was 17 — got married when I was 20 — and we’ve always been self-employed,” Hage said. “When I married him, the first business we opened was lawn maintenance. We mowed grass. We built it to a good size. We sold (that business) and we got into construction. We built houses, I have a broker’s license. He would build them I would sell them. Then the market turned, and we went into construction but in a different way. We were doing pavers — the driveway pavers.”
The pair purchased Atlantic Stonework in 2013. Hage was handling sales and design before striking out on her own. “I just wasn’t happy because — it’s construction,” she said with a laugh. “I got out and I was like, ‘I really want to open a dessert shop’ and that’s basically how it started.”
Hage took over Charlie’s some time thereafter. She was trained by Hawks himself for about a month before she fully took the reins. She has made some significant changes to the bakery, such as adding a creamery to churn out house-made ice cream.
“We completely did a whole interior redesign — new tile, new display cabinets, you know, that type of stuff. So, if you walked in this month versus December, it would be a drastic change.”
“I grew up in the area,” Hage said. “My husband used to come here as a kid and we both love desserts and I’ve always been like one of the people that always made desserts. I was going to open my own ice cream store and have like a few of the items that I love to make, and Charlie’s Bakery came up for sale. It was just an opportunity I couldn’t resist.”’
Hage and her husband did not start out in the baking or ice cream business. They didn’t have food service experience before they scooped up Charlie’s. “My husband and I have been together since I was 17 — got married when I was 20 — and we’ve always been self-employed,” Hage said. “When I married him, the first business we opened was lawn maintenance. We mowed grass. We built it to a good size. We sold (that business) and we got into construction. We built houses, I have a broker’s license. He would build them I would sell them. Then the market turned, and we went into construction but in a different way. We were doing pavers — the driveway pavers.”
The pair purchased Atlantic Stonework in 2013. Hage was handling sales and design before striking out on her own. “I just wasn’t happy because — it’s construction,” she said with a laugh. “I got out and I was like, ‘I really want to open a dessert shop’ and that’s basically how it started.”
Hage took over Charlie’s some time thereafter. She was trained by Hawks himself for about a month before she fully took the reins. She has made some significant changes to the bakery, such as adding a creamery to churn out house-made ice cream.
“We completely did a whole interior redesign — new tile, new display cabinets, you know, that type of stuff. So, if you walked in this month versus December, it would be a drastic change.”
