Meet the Cheesecake Ninja

Cheesecake Ninja is not technically a new business but is mentioned in this space because of Greg Franklin's compelling story.

"My wife, Amy, and I used to concert promote for Christian artists and we stopped doing that and I found I needed a new hobby. I scrolled through Facebook in 2014 and found a picture of a cheesecake so I decided to make one," said Franklin, a 1994 Oak Ridge High School graduate and former factory worker. "Amy came home, tried the cheesecake and it turned out pretty well, so I kept making them."

The irony, Franklin said, is he previously never baked nor even considered himself a cook.

"Making cheesecake became a form of stress relief because factory work was not a fun job," he said.

Franklin's website, www.thecheesecakeninja.com, picks up the story.

Greg Franklin of Cheesecake Ninja at the counter of his business, 110 N. Jackson St., on the square in Perryville, Missouri. Franklin started the business eight years ago, and the entrepreneur made it his full-time work when he lost his factory job in 2018.Submitted

"As [Greg] kept working on his skills, he shared his creations with friends and family. Seeing how happy everyone was to try his cheesecakes, Greg kept coming up with new and exciting ideas for flavors. By this time, he was really having fun and thought maybe he could try and sell his cheesecakes to local businesses and other customers. Facebook marketplace seemed like a good place to start but delivered mixed results. He started just hauling around a cooler, visiting businesses door to door style and that really took off. It was around this time that the nickname 'Cheesecake Ninja' came into the picture thanks to Greg's sister-in-law."

Today, Franklin has four Tuesday delivery routes, two in Cape Girardeau and two in the town in which they live, Jackson.

A life-altering event made the couple decide to make cheesecake a full-time vocation.

"I lost my factory job on National Cheesecake Day, June 30, 2018, and Amy and I looked at each other and decided to go all in," Franklin recalled.

Cheesecake Ninja launched a bricks-and-mortar site just off the square in Perryville, Missouri, at 110 N. Jackson St., while maintaining food truck delivery routes in Cape Girardeau County.

"I take care of the bakery and Amy handles the food truck, plus she also does charcuterie boards and offers charcuterie classes because not everybody likes cheesecake," said Franklin, who said he has developed about 300 flavors, plus vegan and sugar-free, low-carb, gluten-free options.

"My cheesecake is not super heavy. I've gotten a couple of bad reviews because some people were expecting New York-style cheesecake, which is dense. With ours, you don't have to hardly push your fork into it, it's so light and fluffy. We have somewhere in the vicinity of 300 flavors."

The bakery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, and the food truck routes are posted regularly on his Facebook page.

His most colorfully named cheesecake offering, "Cleaning Out the Pantry," has become a favorite with customers.

"I literally was taking stuff off the shelf in the bakery — Reese's Pieces, Butterfingers, Oreos, caramel — and put it into the mix. It stuck with people and it's our second-most popular flavor now," he said.

Do you want more business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Go to www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.