'A Foodie At Heart': New Lenox Woman Sweetens Baking Biz With Shop

NEW LENOX, IL — Samantha Hamilton knew her baking business was getting a bit too big for her basement.

With custom orders coming in consistently for Sugar Shack Cookie Co., and several employees working alongside her, the 33-year-old's itch to bake as a creative outlet while a stay-at-home mom was taking up a lot of space—in her house, and her heart.

"It was quit, or take this to the next level," Hamilton said.

The Homer Glen native began considering the idea of a storefront, and she knew exactly where she wanted it to be.

"I really wanted to be in New Lenox, and be local," she said. "Being a business here since 2017, it is my local customer base—Frankfort, Mokena, New Lenox.

"I just love the town. It's a good town to raise kids in—and so far a good town to have a business in."

Sugar Shack Cookie Co. started out as a way for Hamilton to flex her culinary skills as a mother of three. The graduate of Joliet Junior College's culinary arts program grew up with food as an intrinsic part of her being. Raised by her grandparents—whom she calls "Mom" and "Dad"—she remembers nights spent alongside them, cooking and prepping for family events and parties.

"My mom was always cooking," she said, " and everything always from scratch, bringing my family together.

"My mom instilled that love of cooking. I'm definitely a foodie at heart."

Hamilton and her pipefitter husband Chris have three children together; an 8-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son (who both attend Tyler School in District 122), and a 13-year-old daughter, who attends Martino Junior High. Hamilton first dabbled in custom-ordered cookies, now laughing at how unrefined they might have looked in her early days in business.

"In the beginning, my cookies were terrible-looking," she said, laughing.

If you bake them, they will come, Hamilton realized, and the demand for her business rose. She'd share photos of her custom orders on Facebook, promoting her work.

"I started getting more and more orders," she said. "The whole business this whole time has been custom orders, so people place orders with me for birthdays, holidays, baby showers."

It was working, she said, and soon the business grew beyond her earliest expectations, and she realized she'd need employees.

"What motivated me to hire girls to work out of my house, was the amount of orders we were receiving," she said. "I couldn’t handle them all on my own."

For two years, her employees came to her home to make others sweets dreams come true.

Hamilton decided she'd need more space, if it was going to grow even more.

"Found this storefront here, and decided to take a leap of faith," she said.

Located at 280 E. Lincoln Hwy in New Lenox, Sugar Shack opened last weekend in its first storefront. Hamilton and her seven employees now have a bit more room to work—and a glass display case she can't wait to fill with some of her most creative work.

"The challenging part is, the custom orders are getting arguably more popular now," Hamilton said, and she'd like to make sure they still have time to tap into their creative side to make the case into a delectable display.

"Creatively, I love filling the front case," Hamilton said. "People who’ve never heard of us get to pop in, try something new. It’s just fun, a lot more relaxed.

"I’m thriving off of the front case—creatively, being a chef, all the seasonable flavors we’re able to offer and new things we can try."

Hamilton bases her menu items on customer favorites and requests, ingredient availability, with some seasonal influence, too.

"I like to offer a variety of flavors—fruit stuff, chocolate stuff, pumpkin spice," Hamilton said. "Real sugar, real butter. It's all made from scratch."

Customer favorites so far have been her homemade take on brand name Pop-Tarts—they offer several 3 flavors each weekend—croissants, Crème brûlée, and cupcakes. And they always sell out of their decorated cookies, she said. She also plans to offer cookie-making classes for children.

"It’s been crazy, it’s been insane," Hamilton remarked, on how the business has been going. "We’ve been selling out on weekends. It’s a good problem to have."

She might have moved the business from her home to a strip mall, but it's almost as if she hadn't.

"I’m basically living here now," she said, laughing. "I just need a roll-out bed here."

And her first dollar made at the store? Handed over by her Dad.

Sugar Shack Cookie Co., 280 E Lincoln Hwy., is open Fridays 1 to 6 p.m., and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Custom orders can be placed via the website. General questions may be sent via text or phone call to (708)408-8102.