This is part two of a two-part series on Meijer Fairfax Market and three local entrepreneurs who are thriving at the new market.

When Meijer Fairfax Market store director Alan Jordan emailed Desira Sallee in October 2022 to ask her if she was interested in selling her cakes at the market, then under construction at 2190 E. 105th in Fairfax, she thought it was a joke.Sallee had been baking cakes for Great Lakes , and wanted to take her business, D’s Sweet Treats & More, into the retail market.“I was trying to figure out what my next move was going to be—I wanted to get into stores, but I didn't know how to do that,” recalls Sallee. “And then three weeks later, I got this email from Alan, saying, ‘Hey, this is what we're doing. Are you interested?’”

Sallee was skeptical. “At first I thought it was a hoax,” she says. “I was like, why is Meijer reaching out? Who are they? They don't know me.” So Sallee ignored the email for half a day before she decided to investigate.

Desira L Sallee ofD's Sweet Treats & More atMeijer Fairfax Market“I looked it up and I was like, ‘oh this is real,’” she recalls. “So then I sent Alan an email back saying ‘Yes, I'm interested in hearing more.’ And so that's kind of how it started.”

When the 40,000-square-foot Market opened on Tuesday, Jan. 16—with an emphasis on carrying local entrepreneurs’ products—Sallee’s cakes were on the shelves—Sallee had the shelves stocked with both her slices and whole cakes in lemon, vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet.

Actually being a local market in a neighborhood that, up until three weeks ago was deemed a food desert, is a priority for Meijer, Jordan says. Aside from offering the typical groceries Meijer carries, the market is designed to create jobs, revitalize the neighborhood, and support local entrepreneurs.

The local spin on the selection has been well-received, says Jordan, adding that he had worked with many of the vendors who are new to retail.

“That's the amazing thing—we have been able to help these local vendors off the ground and into retail,” he says. “It truly is like a neighborhood market because we have that ability to help support these local vendors in real, genuine ways and then be reflective of the wants and needs of the community.”Many of the more than 150 locally made products have been selling out as fast as the entrepreneurs can stock them. FreshWater Cleveland talked to three entrepreneurs—Desira Sallee of D’s Sweet Treats & More, Andrea Catlin of Catlin Naturals, and Charlotte Peachie Tufts of O Taste & C.—who are getting their starts in retail at the Meijer Fairfax Market.

A sweet experience

For Sallee’s D’s Sweet Treats, the Fairfax Market opportunity was the answer she had been looking for to launch her cakes into the retail market.“We actually connected her with Central Kitchen, a food business accelerator, for help with packaging and labeling and things like that,” he explains. “I connected her with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland’s [Black Women in Retail Accelerator Program], and then we got her cakes and cake slices in here. She sold out of her initial load [in the first week] and had to bring us more product.”Despite the popularity of D’ Sweet Treats, Sallee says she decided to take the retail foray slowly, even though Jordan wanted to carry all 10 of her cake flavors. “I said, well, let's start small and work our way up,” she recalls. “Eventually I'll add different flavors.”

Sallee says she has been baking for about 24 years, and slowly it turned into a business. “I've always loved to bake, it's always been my passion,” she says. “Then I started doing just little stuff, for my church group and [my] boys’ school.”

Great Lakes Triple Chocolate Cake by D's Sweet Treats & MoreSallee then began taking Wilton cake decorating classes at JC Penney and Mardi Gras Cake & Candy Supplies in North Olmstead, where she bought her cake supplies.

“That's kind of how it got started—I was just doing what I love to do,” she says. “Then somebody asked me how much I would charge for decorating. But retail, that's a whole different ballgame. It's interesting. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to keep up with all of that, but I enjoy it because I'm just strictly doing my cakes.”

Sallee, who is an intervention associate with the Berea City Schools, says she had great support from her friends, who help with labeling, cleaning, and moral support. She says she needs the support because customers love her cakes.

“It's going to be interesting just to see what happens because according to [inventory manager] Chris McGuire, everything's been selling out,” she says. “So I have to figure out how to keep the shelves stocked.”

Sallee says she initially agreed to make four whole cakes and 24 individual slices each week. On opening day, Sallee’s cakes completely sold out at the Fairfax Market.

“Chris called and he said, ‘I never would ask for a turnaround on such short notice, but it's the first day and we sold out,’” Sallee recalls. “I said, ‘you kind of got lucky because school was canceled. I could probably get like one cake and about twelve slices to you.’ I did that and it's been a little crazy.”

Jordan says he is impressed with Sallee’s abilities to manage the retail market as a newcomer. “We got her cakes and cake slices in here, and she sold out for her initial load and had to bring us more product,” he says.

Powerful scents

Andrea Catlin knows the healing power of natural aromas like almond, lavender, hibiscus, rose, and vanilla. She’s also a big believer in taking care of oneself.

“[Aromatherapy] provided a powerful endorphin release that triggered my emotions,” she recalls. “People don’t think about how scents make them feel—it’s transformative. It transforms me, for sure. And mindful self-care is extremely important.”

Andrea Catlin of Catlin Naturals at Meijer Fairfax MarketAfter trying to cope with the loss of her grandmother and other family members, as well as other life challenges, Catlin started to realize how powerful aromatherapy can be in the healing process.

Discovering the power of scents and fragrances propelled me to focus on my mental health and mindful self-care as I was coping with all of the grief and pain,” she says. “Making this connection was healing, spiritual, therapeutic, and ultimately ignited a passion in me that I never knew existed. It led to my passion and purpose.”

In fact, the power of scents led Catlin in 2020 to take an aromatherapy class, where she learned to blend oils, and fell in love with the practice. “I always had an interest in it,” Catlin says. “As I learned more about blending, I realized I have a knack for it. You can create so many different things.”

The experience led her to create Catlin Naturals—a luxury body care line of body butters, whips, and scrubs for women and men that are blended with pure essential oils and fragrance oils—with a mission to deliver unique products that create luxurious experiences, moisturize skin and indulge the senses through mindful self-care.

Since launching in 2018, Catlin has grown to carry more than 40 products with several unique scents. Meijer Market currently carries 10 Catlin Naturals products, but she says she will soon be introducing her other products to the store. 

“I love what I do,” she says. “When I am creating a product, it’s healing. It’s like therapy for me, and I know I’m making an impact.”

Catlin Naturals - Lavender Chamomile Body MousseShe says she uses the Aloe Whip daily, which is great for dry skin, and uses the Prosecco Hibiscus Body Mousse & Scrub weekly. “It helps me practice mindful self-care and pamper myself,” she says.

In 2022 Reverence Design Team Hair Salon in Cleveland Heights started carrying Catlin Naturals. Shortly after that, Catlin saw a post in University Circle, Inc.’s Greater Circle Business Alliance (GCBA) blog, asking for entrepreneurs to pitch their products to sell in the upcoming Fairfax Market. Catlin pitched her line, and Jordan invited her to be one of the local vendors.

Catlin says she is not only thrilled to sell her products in the Fairfax Market, but, as a proud Fairfax resident, she is also pleased that the Fairfax neighborhood finally has a grocery store. “I can walk to the store to shop and get fruits and vegetables,” she says.

So far, Catlin says the most popular products in her line at the Market have been the Aloe Whip, Cedar Musk Body Butter, Coco Cashmere Body Butter, Honey Almond Body Butter, and Tropical Delight Body Butter.

Catlin sold out of the Cedar Musk and Coco Cashmere Body Butters and was running low on the Aloe Whip, Honey Almond, and Tropical Delight Body Butters in the first two weeks Meijer was open. She restocked last weekend.

Taste the memories

Anyone who knows Charlene Peachie Tufts probably thinks of something good to eat when they see her walking up to them. While working for Cuyahoga County in various positions over 22 years, she earned a reputation for frequently bringing her culinary creations into the office to share with the staff.

“If there was something going on, I was known for making food,” Tufts boasts, citing her cakes cookies, cheesecakes, pound cake, and buffalo dip as just some of the goodies in her repertoire. “I’ve been baking, it seems like, for most of my life.”

Charlene Peachie Tufts of O Taste & C at Meijer Fairfax MarketTufts also made food to give as gifts, and was always at bake sales to help raise money for youth basketball leagues and for Harvest Time Evangelistic Ministries on East 79th Street in Fairfax, where her sister and brother-in-law, William and Narbell Johnson, served as pastors.

While Tufts has earned a reputation for a variety of her recipes, it’s her Ooh-wee Butter Drop Cookies that people clamor for. Tufts describes them as “A melt-in-your-mouth experience that takes your mind, heart & tastebuds home.”

The youngest of nine children, Tufts' oldest brother, Shelton Tufts, Jr., got her into making cookies when she was a teenager.

“My brother taught me to make [cookies,” she says. “I’ve been making these cookies since I was a teenager. Then one Christmas, money was getting a little low, so I started making cookies for Christmas gifts.”

After that, Tufts kept making the cookies as gifts and selling them for fundraisers. She credits her sister and brother-in-law and pastor with encouraging the business.

“Every time I did a pop-up, they were there,” she recalls, adding that William Johnson passed away last year from cancer. “He would tell people at the pop-up, ‘Hey, you try these cookies. If you don’t like them, I’ll buy them.”

In 2018, Tufts left her job with Cuyahoga County and began baking full time—making her cookies, pound cake, buffalo dip, peach cobbler, cheesecake, pasta salad, and other recipes.

Today, Ooh-wee Butter Drop Cookies are the signature item of her bakery business, O Taste & C, which she operates out of Central Kitchen.

O Taste & C's Signature ooh-wee Butter Drop Cookies“I used to visit Central Kitchen on my lunch breaks and take them cookies, but I didn’t join them until 2020,” Tufts says of her business headquarters. I was already insured, but I wanted to be licensed with the city and state to be able to offer my food and desserts to places I couldn’t do as a home baker.”

Tufts credits Central Kitchen Incubator manager Darius Anderson for getting O Taste & C into Meijer because he encouraged her to pitch Ooh-wee Butter Drop Cookies to Jordan.

“I never would have pitched to Meijer if it wasn’t for Darius Anderson,” she says. “This never would have happened if Darius hadn’t encouraged me. Even when I didn’t think I could and said no, he encouraged me to do it.”

The case of cookies Tufts supplied had sold out before the doors had closed on opening day. “On opening day, Tuesday, they ran out and called me to ask for more,” Tufts recalls. “I brought them another case. They called me again on Thursday. On Sunday, they called again and said, ‘this time, bring two cases.’ That next Wednesday, they called to say they only had three bags left. By the time I got there, they were gone. I laughed, and said, ‘they’re very good.’”

Last week, Jordan asked Tufts for four cases of cookies. Then she delivered another six cases last Saturday, which sold out by Sunday. “I’m so grateful,” she says.

Jordan is impressed with Tuft’s tenacity. “This is her first time in proper retail, and she's been absolutely killing it,” says Jordan. “That's the amazing thing, we have been able to help these local vendors from truly the ground up to get into the retail.”Tufts’ slogan is “Taste the Memories,” in honor of her tight-knit family. “These cookies [reflect] memories of my brother, who taught me the recipes, memories of baking with my mom, and memories of my sister grilling with my dad,” she says. “And memories of home.”

Sallee’s D’s Sweet Treats & More, Catlin’s Catlin Naturals, and Tufts’ Ooh-wee Butter Drop Cookies are all for sale in the local section of Meijer Fairfax Market.

Read part one of this series, Neighborhood uplifted: Meijer Fairfax Market an oasis in a food desert, focuses on local makers.

Meijer Fairfax Market’s regular hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The market is located at 2190 E. 105th St., at the corner if East 105th Street and Cedar Road.