Jackson couple bring The Cheesecake Ninja back home

In 2014, Jackson resident Greg Franklin wanted a new hobby, so he started baking cheesecakes. He took a candy cane cheesecake he had made to his wife Amy’s Christmas dinner.

“My brother took a bite and he said, ‘Oh, my God, Greg, you’re like a cheesecake ninja.’ And my sister said, ‘You just assassinated my cravings,’” Amy Franklin said. “So our brand and our tagline were born at a family Christmas dinner.”

Shortly afterward, the Franklins launched The Cheesecake Ninja with the tagline “assassinate your cravings” and began a cheesecake delivery route. Greg lost his job July 30, 2018 — National Cheesecake Day — and decided to open up a bakery in Perryville.

On April 9, 2024, the couple moved their business back home to 318 E. Main St., Suite A, in Jackson.

“We had been looking for a couple of years to move to Jackson because we live in Jackson,” Greg Franklin said. “Our store in Perryville was a 40-minute drive one way, so we just wanted to start saving gas and be closer to home. The (Jackson Area) Chamber of Commerce had been looking for a spot for us and this spot came open. That’s how we ended up here.”

The location had previously been home to a meal prep service, so it had several features, such as a kitchen, coolers and a drive-thru, ideal for making, storing and selling cheesecakes.

Franklin finds inspiration for his cheesecakes online or through customer requests. He has made everything from common fruit or dessert flavors to dill pickle- or taco-flavored cheesecakes.

Both "The Cheesecake Ninja" and its tagline "assassinate your cravings" came from a Christmas dinner close to a decade ago. Greg Franklin started out selling cheesecakes on a delivery route before moving to a physical storefront and a food truck.Christopher Borro ~ cborro@semissourian.com

“People will send us recipes and be like, ‘Can you make this?’ We’re like, absolutely, why would we not try this?” Amy Franklin said.

The couple offer more than 300 cheesecake flavors, which may be viewed at their company website, www.thecheesecakeninja.com.

They also serve a variety of other desserts such as muffins, cheesecake parfaits, cheesecake cookie sandwiches and more than two dozen flavors of gooey butter cake.

With so many flavors available, they are only displayed in-store on a rotating basis.

“If I don’t like one flavor, there’s always something else to try,” Greg Franklin said.

In contrast to their Perryville location, the Franklins now sell more than just desserts. They make salads, quiches, casseroles and a different hot lunch every day.

Originally, the couple had partnered with someone to provide lunches, but they decided to focus full time on their food truck shortly before The Cheesecake Ninja opened.

“Luckily, I am a home ec teacher by trade so that helped us figure out some lunch options really fast,” Amy Franklin said.

The Franklins also operate a food truck for The Cheesecake Ninja, offering many of the desserts on sale in their brick-and-mortar location. They will attend every Jackson Food Truck Rally at the St. Louis Iron Mountain Railway for the rest of the season.

They started operating the food truck as a way to sell their cheesecakes during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Franklins are currently the only workers at their store, though Amy Franklin said they will likely hire help in the near future. After they do, they will resume their cheesecake delivery schedule.

The Cheesecake Ninja is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

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