Jackie's Cakes - Hazard, Kentucky

Two blog entries in one month??  What kind of tom-foolery is this?!  I'm kidding, although the idea of doing more than one entry a month is something that I've considered off and on since the beginning, this particular time, it's warranted.  A "mid-month stomp", I guess you could say.  It's not every day we get a brand new eatery in the area, and I can honestly say, it couldn't have came at a better time.


I'll be frank and honest with you folks, because I feel I can be.  I consider Hazard to be part of my home.  Part of my proverbial Appalachian back yard.  I may be a tried and true Knott Countian, but I spend much of my time in Hazard as well, so I consider it 'my' town just as much as anyone who actually lives there would.  When something new decides to grace the city limits, I don't say "they" got something new....I say "we" did.  I think most in my area would attest and agree.  I'll be honest again....I think "our" downtown has seen better days.  Without launching into a socio-political diatribe about specific reasons of why that may or may not be the case, again, I think we can all attest and agree that it's definitely the truth.  A sad, surreal reality that we're all having to accept. 

This catastrophe surely didn't help.

While the days may be far behind us of TG&Y and Don's Steakhouse livening the main street scape in Hazard, there have been others who have stepped up and tried to do their part in making that area of town great again.  Unfortunately some of those have failed, but others have stood defiant and withstood our economic hardships.

It's like our very own Washington Square Arch.  The Appalachian Arc de Triomphe, if you will.

It also doesn't help that our landmark movie theater, Fugate's Cinema, closed down just the day before yesterday.  But I guess that's another story for another day.  






    

Still though, RIP :(

Bottom line:  I get downright giddy when I hear of a new business, of any type, ponying up and being bold enough to attempt to do their own thing in such an embattled area.  But just as sure as I'm typing this, there I sat yesterday morning, and suddenly in my Facebook news feed, there pops up a flyer about a grand opening of a new bakery, beginning in exactly 20 minutes...with former University of Kentucky Wildcat Jarrod Polson rolling in to meet and greet.  One day after our theater closes, this is surely more than mere coincidence.  How this news had failed to make it to me before now, I have no clue.  So, I scratched my head, processed what I had just read, took the quickest shower I've ever taken, and sped out of my driveway.  Then I realized the weather was terrible, it's bone chilling cold, and it's probably not the best time to be playing 'Speed Racer'. 

Seriously, any day that looks like this....

...and feels like this, it's probably a good idea to take it easy on the roads.

I arrived downtown around 1:30pm.  There wasn't a lot of traffic, so I parked pretty easily.  I was already impressed and I hadn't even made it across the sidewalk yet.

It's so nice to finally see some color down this way.

Sweet, sugary color...

I strolled in, and I'm immediately greeted by a very nice lady and a couple other workers.  Also, Jarrod Polson was there with his girlfriend, chilling and talking to folks who were just hanging out.  They had some of their signature cupcakes out on the ordering counter to choose from, so of course I caved immediately and had to try a couple.

Strawberry Cheesecake, Wedding Cake, and Chocolate Caramel Nut!

Of course having a strawberry option, I went with the obvious choice, followed by a Chocolate Caramel.

And the winner is....

They were really good, not gonna lie.  There were free samples to dig into as well!  I then began a discussion with Jackie herself, which eventually drew in others around the room as well, even Mr. Polson.  As it turns out, Jackie is a transplant from a town just a few miles north of Los Angeles, CA.  One of her employees, is a transplant here from New York City.  They both wound up here by sheer fate, and they've come together to try to make it here in Eastern Kentucky along with all the rest of us, offering loads of outside perspective and ideas.  They've joined forces to try to economically tackle Hazard's once thriving main street, and I can't even begin to express what a challenge that's going to be.  Things haven't exactly gone smoothly for them up until this point, either.  They had originally planned on opening in one of the vacated buildings a couple blocks up the street, but those plans fell through at the last minute.  Literally.  They were informed they would have to move Saturday, got the permit for the new location, and the electricity/water turned on Tuesday, and began renovations/clean up/opening plans on Wednesday.  They still managed to open YESTERDAY. 



Will everything going on, they simply weren't able to open with a full menu.  They were literally up until 2am painting the walls.  All their equipment hadn't even came in yet, so they were doing a "bare bones" opening just to inform the public of their existence.  Jackie told me in the very near future, that they weren't only going to be offering the cupcakes I tried earlier, but a full breakfast, lunch, and possibly even dinner menu, with their main focus being on breakfast and lunch.  Various coffees and other drinks, as well as desserts, were also mentioned, and she is currently taking custom orders for cakes.  I can't wait to see what these folks have to offer in the very near future.



She contacted WYMT Mountain News to come and cover her opening as well.  They showed up, with anchor Matthew Rand representing them, along with a few other customers, and the great conversations continued.  We all talked about the beauty of the area, about the potential of tourism, the Knott County Trail Ride, coal mining, the history of the town, and Mr. Polson even jokingly said he'd like to open a tree house themed restaurant in the area, of course in an actual tree house.  He was a great guy. Genuinely very nice and humble.  It was his first time in the area, and he bragged about how beautiful the scenery was, and how nice everyone had been.  He was honored to be taking pictures and shaking hands with the people who came in to see what was going on.

"Of course I'm taller than Anthony Davis!"

Even he was perplexed and curious enough to Instagram a pic of a "red velvet waffle".

And he was nice enough to half it with me.  That's right UK fans, I ate some of Jarrod Polson's waffle.  I've finally made it.

Other employees of WYMT, meteorologist Allison Rogers and news anchor Callie Rainey, came down as well to see what was up.  They mingled somewhat and ordered some coffee, and was glad to join in on the conversations with us for a few minutes.  I think it's also noteworthy to mention that these ladies are from out of state as well, so we now have 5 states represented in a small bakery in downtown Hazard.  Way cool!

Thanks, ladies!

The longer I stayed, and the longer I had the chance to exchange pleasantries with people from near and far, the more I realized that I just simply couldn't review this place.  Not yet.  What was happening here was so much more amazing than anything I could have tasted.  This was real.  This was a conversation; an analysis of how amazing this area really is; a commentary on the state of the condition of our home.  OUR home.  From Cali to New York, from Missouri down to Mississippi....this is OUR home.  It warms my heart to see that someone is willing to take a chance.  To not give up on us.  For one more shot. 

This guy knows all about shots.

Doing a review of a business that was forced to move at the last minute, and then spent the last 72 hours frantically trying to throw everything together, would be a disservice to that establishment.  It was a string of very unfortunate events, but it lead to something so beautiful.  This place has quite a future ahead of it.  Jackie, you better believe I'll be back soon for some of those gravy and biscuits.






Take care, and thanks for reading!