[0:10] Hello Chanhassen and welcome to this [0:13] episode of the local. This week we are [0:14] joined by Vanessa Drews, owner of the [0:17] Cheesecake Funk. Vanessa, can you tell [0:19] me what inspired you to start your [0:20] business? I had been working in [0:23] corporate for 20 years and I thought, [0:26] you know, if I'm going to start a [0:28] business, I just need to go for it. And [0:30] people loved my cheesecakes. And so I [0:33] thought, you know, it's now or never. [0:35] And if it doesn't work out, I can always [0:37] go back to the legal field. But and so [0:40] now here we are, a full-on bakery. [0:43] So what made you start making [0:44] cheesecakes, though? Was it a family [0:46] recipe or how did you start with [0:48] cheesecake? Um, you know, I honestly [0:50] just I've always been like a home baker [0:52] and just loved baking and cooking and [0:55] stumbled across cheesecake recipe and [0:58] over the years just kind of perfected [1:01] it. And I always tried to stop making [1:03] them around the holidays, but then every [1:05] holiday would come around and people [1:07] would ask for cheesecakes. So, I just [1:09] kind of kept on with it and that was I [1:11] started making them in 2002. So, it's [1:14] been a long while. [1:17] What's been the hardest part do you [1:18] think being a female entrepreneur in [1:20] your business? [1:21] The amount of questions [1:23] of do you have a spouse, you know, or [1:27] like is there anybody else doing this [1:29] with you? The doubt that I've gotten a [1:31] lot has been there, but I think the more [1:34] that I secure, you know, making lots of [1:37] cheesecakes and now having this space [1:39] just kind of shows that we can do it. [1:43] I have heard rumblings that Prince was a [1:45] fan of your cheesecakes. Is that true? [1:47] Absolutely. [1:48] Yeah. When I worked for him selling [1:50] merchandise, I would just put [1:52] cheesecakes in the fridge and he found [1:54] them in the fridge one evening or early [1:56] morning maybe and started mentioning [1:59] Cheesecake Funk on social media and then [2:02] I knew that he had found it and he [2:04] enjoyed it and then they kept asking for [2:07] more turtle cheesecake. [2:10] So, what is your bestselling cheesecake? [2:12] Do you have one that you think is your [2:14] signature cheesecake? [2:15] Definitely the turtle cuz that was [2:16] Prince's favorite, but the banana cream [2:19] is growing to be a staple of mine. Um, [2:22] it's traditional cheesecake with a nice [2:24] layer of bananas with freshlymade [2:26] vanilla bean whipped cream. Also, the [2:29] candied bacon mini is growing to be a [2:32] nice favorite, too, with the savory and [2:34] sweet. White chocolate caramel is always [2:36] good. Um, and also I just added um [2:38] Butterfinger. [2:40] Now that you're entering the retail [2:42] market, I know you're doing some unique [2:44] products that people are going to be [2:45] able to buy. Do you want to talk about [2:46] some of those unique products? [2:47] Um, yeah. So, I'm always going to have [2:49] whole cakes available, 8 in and 10in [2:52] available. I'm also always going to have [2:55] minis and slices, and then I've started [2:58] to add homemade pop-tarts made by a [3:01] local baker, um, fruit and grain. Also [3:04] have ice cream because everybody doesn't [3:06] like cheesecake and that's totally fine. [3:08] So, right now we've got some salted [3:10] caramel chocolate and strawberry ice [3:12] cream. [3:13] What makes your business unique? [3:15] I don't know. I mean, everything is made [3:17] from scratch every day. Um, it's [3:20] womenowned, women led, and I'm a mom, [3:23] too. So, it's like I have lots of hats [3:26] to juggle. Um, but making cheesecakes [3:28] and making good things for people is [3:31] just kind of what I like to do. [3:34] What can Chanhasten as a community do to [3:36] help you? You know, I would just love to [3:38] be the baker that you guys come to. Um, [3:41] I'm local. I'm close. Um, I'm pretty [3:45] much always here for any occasion. So, [3:48] anytime there's a sweet treat that's [3:50] needed, I would love to to be that [3:53] person to help. [3:53] Thank you so much for being a Chanhassen [3:55] resident in a Chanhassen business. We [3:57] just appreciate you being here. [3:59] Yes, I'm so happy to do so. Thank you [4:01] for joining us for this episode of The [4:03] Local. And please remember, Chan Hassen, [4:06] being local is more than just a zip [4:08] code. Being local means supporting [4:10] local. Until next time, Chan Hassen.