What started as a change to her family’s diet has blossomed into a fully functional bakery for Elizabeth Wood, owner of Consider it Joy Baking in Shades Mountain Plaza. “It was truly exciting when I found out that a commercial kitchen space was coming available in Bluff Park. It is the community I call home, and it feels like this is where I am supposed to be,” Elizabeth says. Since opening, the savvy baker has found herself selling and quickly restocking almost all of her baked goods. –Hoover’s Magazine 2016.
It’s been three years since Elizabeth opened her beloved bakery, and it’s growth and popularity has taken off. Rebecca Wanagat joined Elizabeth that first summer, and the two ladies started offering more delicious options like chicken salad, soups, and meals. “At that point we really became more than a bakery,” Elizabeth explains.
A few weeks ago, the ladies took to Facebook Live from Consider It Joy’s page with an exciting announcement.
“Consider It Joy Baking is now The Joyful Food Company.”
“ We wanted our name to reflect what we had become,” Elizabeth says in the stream. “It is more than just muffins, breads, and baked goods now. It is a whole food company.”
The wheels started turning about a year ago for the concept of re-branding. Many people were surprised to learn the bakery also offered meals along with their baked goods. “We wanted to keep the word ‘Joy’ in the name. Not just for continuity but because it is such an essential part of our day to day lives,” Elizabeth says.
The word “joy” describes how Elizabeth and Rebecca feel when they are able to provide delicious and healthy food to their customers. It also describes an emotion many of their customers with dietary restrictions feel when they walk in and realize ALL of the delicious food items they can have without having to worry about cross-contamination or other adverse reactions. “We wanted to keep that feeling of joy because this is a difficult way to have to eat if you have allergies and dietary restrictions,” Rebecca adds.
Elizabeth says some of their most popular meals are their buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes, salmon patties with chipotle mayo, citrus carnitas (a flavorful pulled pork), and their chicken pot pie.
For the Thanksgiving holiday, delicious pecan pies, stuffing, onion gravy, turkey, and pumpkin bread were popular items their customers picked up for their dinner table. What is on the menu for Christmas? Lots of yummy choices for sure.
The Joyful change will be official in January 2018 with an event to kick off the new year. Some of the store’s interior will have a new look, packaging and labels will feature the new Joyful Food Company logo. What will not change is the quality ingredients, customer favorites (like monster cookies), and the attention to detail their customers rely on.
Other news mentioned during the live stream included now having hot tea from Piper & Leaf available, and that they are now on Waitr, a delivery service where you can place an order from the Waitr app and have your order delivered right to your door step. Waitr does not replace the weekly menu orders and pick up/delivery, but it does give options for same day lunches and dinners.
Catch Rebecca and Elizabeth in “5 Food & Drink Questions” in a future issue of Hoover’s Magazine. #simplecleandelicious
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