The Baking Soldier (thebakingsoldier.com) opened in February with the mission of establishing a female veteran association. The small business is helping give back to the veteran community.
Situated in the back of her store, owner Hayley Johnson is hard at work doing what she does best — creating confections from baked goods to chocolates and everything in between.
“These are cake pops that I make from my Italian cookies,” says Johnson. “Raspberry, strawberry — this is a fruit medley.”
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It’s all happening under the roof of her new business, inspired by her real-life call-to-duty and love for baking. “I make it all by hand and hand paint everything and put a lot of time and love into my products,” said Johnson.
But the inspiration behind Johnson’s store goes a little deeper than the chocolate.
“I’ve been advocating for better veteran care for about 30 years now,” she says.
Johnson served in the Navy. An injury brought her military career to an early end and led her down other paths until her passion for baking took over. “My story went to the White House, it was featured in Glamour magazine in 2015, and when I was in New York, I still could not find the resources to help me,” Johnson said. “I even worked with United Nations Human Rights Watch, and still there were no resources for family law for veterans so that is my ultimate goal and why I want to start an association.”
It’s this mission that has brought Johnson to Tarpon Springs where she is partnering with the Pinellas County Veteran Association. “I would like to grow the business,” says Johnson, “and I would like to see my veteran association be up and running within the next year.”
The Baking Soldier is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
