Sweet Street Desserts

In 2009, when a local Greenville Sara Lee Corporation bakery closed its doors, approximately 200 employees either found themselves without a job. The bakery remained vacant for many years. Sweet Street Desserts, considered the premier gourmet dessert manufacturer in the world and a certified Woman Owned Business (WBE), purchased the facility, and transformed it into a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant capable of handling multiple baking processes.

While nearly 160 jobs have been created through this project, it is noteworthy that Sweet Street sought to hire many of the former Sara Lee employees. The true community impact exists in not only the refurbishment and transformation of the space, but also in the transformation of the lives of the people who were affected by the plant closure in the first place. To further encourage opportunities for advancement, Sweet Street created nine U.S. Department of Labor registered apprenticeship programs with Apprenticeship Carolina™ and local Greenville Technical College. Registered apprenticeship programs are an “earn while you learn” training model that enable employees to receive increased wages through structured on the job training and job related education.

“We are extremely pleased to establish new operations in Greenville, and very appreciative of the new markets tax credit funding from The Innovate Fund. It allows our company to maintain industry leadership while bringing new jobs to South Carolina – a win/win for all.”

-Sandy Solmon, founder and CEO, Sweet Street Desserts, Inc.