From cakes to cactus: Casey and Stacey share retail space in Jackson

At first glance, you wouldn't think a cake and pastry shop could coexist with a business specializing in potted plants.

But when you factor in the personalities of the business proprietors, Casey Rehkop and Stacey Roth, it's easy to see why they share retail space in Jackson.

"We like to have a lot of fun," Rehkop said during a side-by-side interview with Roth.

And listening to them, it's obvious they get along as if they're the best of friends who've known each other all their lives.

But in reality, it was only a couple of years ago they met and began a friendship that eventually led them to open their businesses last month at 1815 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite B.

One entrance, two businesses — turn left for Casey's Sweet Treats, turn right for Glass Gardens by Stacey.

Glass Gardens by Stacey owner Stacey Roth with some of the succulents and other houseplants at her plant decor shop, Wednesday. The business opened last month at 1815 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson.Jay Wolz

From pastimes to careers

Both businesses began as hobbies about 10 years ago.

"I was working up in St. Louis but wasn't super happy at my job and was trying to find anything I could connect with," said Roth, who is originally from Old Appleton in Cape Girardeau County. "When you work at a job you don't love, you just get run down."

Her boyfriend both then and now, Kyle Yamnitz, thought greenery might cheer her up.

"He bought me some plants, we created a little green room, I filled it and it became an obsession," she said in explaining the "roots" of her business.

Roth returned to the area, along with her budding plant hobby, and worked at a law office in Cape Girardeau until the attorney she worked for retired. In the meantime, she and Yamnitz began branching out.

"Kyle and I have been in business since 2017, basically starting with farmers markets, craft shows, special orders, weddings and wholesale stuff," she said.

Casey Rehkop, owner of Casey's Sweet Treats in Jackson, holds a tray of chocolate cupcakes at her desert and pastry shop Wednesday. The shop opened last month at 1815 E. Jackson Blvd.Jay Wolz

As for Rehkop, she said she wasn't pleased with store-bought birthday cakes she found for her children, so she started baking her own from scratch and began perfecting recipes for various desserts and confections.

"I taught myself," she said. "I just started making cakes and taught myself how to do it, so it started from there."

She gradually began accepting special orders for custom cakes and other sweet treats.

For much of the past decade, Rehkop was working as manager of a convenience store in Cape Girardeau while doing commercial cleaning on the side.

"I was doing that for five or six years, but in January 2019, I decided to quit my jobs and focus on baking full time," she said, and explained how her business grew on social media.

"I worked hard to get followers on Facebook. This time last year we had 800, and right now we're up to 3,200," she said. Her online followers include clusters of customers in St. Louis, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff, Fredericktown (her hometown) and elsewhere throughout Southeast Missouri.

Like Roth, Rehkop recently began selling her goods at craft fairs and farmers markets.

"My very first event was the Azalea Festival in Fredericktown, and then I started at the farmers market in Jackson," Rehkop said.

"I remember her first day there. We sat next to each other," Roth recalled.

That was in early 2019.

"We've been sitting next to each other ever since," Roth said. "We'd go to events together, set up next to each other and we bonded."

Event cancellations

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Many fairs, festivals and farmers markets were canceled, sometimes at the last minute, leaving Roth and Rehkop with no outlet for marketing their plants and pastries except out of their homes.

"We had products and nothing do with them," Roth said. "People were coming by our houses, but that became too much for us."

They began looking for retail space, ideally, someplace where their businesses could be side-by-side, just as they were at the fairs, festivals and farmers markets. They eventually found available space at 1815 E. Jackson Blvd., in a building that was the former location of a Chinese buffet, which was recently replaced by a Japanese restaurant.

Cactus to cakes

A month after opening their mutual storefront Dec. 12, Roth and Rehkop have filled their display areas with tempting treats and perennial plants.

On the "Sweet Treats" side, customers can choose from custom cakes, decorated sugar cookies, specialty brownies, cupcakes, breads and candies.

"And our chocolate-covered strawberries are very popular for Valentine's Day," Rehkop said. "We'll have a lot of different chocolate sets for men, women and kids. We do it all."

And although it's not on the menu, those ordering wedding cakes might be interested in knowing Rehkop is also an ordained minister.

On their side of the building, Roth and Yamnitz offer a selection of vegetative home decor, including succulents and a variety of exotic and unique houseplants.

"What makes us a little bit different than other places is we have a potting station where you can pick out your plants, pick out your pots, and then we have rock toppers and decorations for you to make it look however you want to match your house or match the room your plant is going to be in," Roth explained. "In the summer, we're going to include bedding plants and produce. It will eventually be like a regular garden center, but for now we're just doing houseplants."

Mutual admiration

Roth and Rehkop credit each other with helping each other succeed.

"Casey is a single mom of five and I think it's a giant feat for her to do this," Roth said of her co-tenant.

Rehkop, in praise of Roth, said, "I have never been more proud of anyone outside of my children. She works her butt off."

As of now, neither Casey's Sweet Treats nor Glass Gardens by Stacey have permanent phone numbers, so until they do, Roth and Rehkop say the best ways to reach either business is through Facebook or Google.

Their winter hours are 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and from noon until 5 p.m. Sundays.

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