Here are some of the regular faces of Muddy’s Bake Shop!

Kat: owner, baker, accountant, dishwasher, blogger, the list goes on…

Kat’s favorite part of her job is tasting the new goodies for “quality purposes”. She got a Tasty-Bake oven from Santa in 1989 and has been creating both delicious culinary successes and horrible failed experiments ever since.  Her favorite bakery item is pie and she is eagerly anticipating the great pie revolution…  Overheard: “ok, this is my LAST cookie…”
Founded the Muddy’s family in February ‘08

Elizabeth: manager of Muddy’s Bake Shop and speed baker

Elizabeth left a practical job at an insurance broker to pursue a love of food and people. She can usually be found icing cakes and instigating spontaneous powdered sugar fights with fellow employees. She and her husband Travis just had a precious baby (the first Muddy’s baby!), June Ann.  Overheard: “so last night at Taco Bell…”
Part of the Muddy’s family since September ‘08

Amanda: manager of Muddy’s Underground

Amanda is the woman in charge of our Underground kitchen; she spends most of her time ordering ingredients, meeting with suppliers, and she even gets to bake some too! She stays active with Second Presbyterian Church and loves working with people.  Overheard: “need us to come in early?  We can come in early.  Tell you what, we’re gonna come in early.”
Part of the Muddy’s family since May ‘08

Kip: vp of operations (manager of awesome)

Kip is usually manning the case, repairing something around the shop, or taking care of business.   Despite having won multiple Emmy awards through his work at Fox 13, he joined the Muddy’s team full time in June as Kat’s right hand man. WOOT! His favorite Muddy’s item is the ginger kip cookie (named after him, natch). He’s also Kat and Kitty’s brother and is totally awesome.  Overheard: “your face.”
Part of the Muddy’s family since February ‘08.

Lindye: assistant manager and ninja baker

Lindye has been getting her bake on professionally for over 30 years and is the genius behind our delicious honey rosemary cookie, the toffee cake, and more. She can’t say no to a stray kitty or a yard sale. She also loves gardening and spoiling her grand-baby Isabelle. Her favorite Muddy’s desserts are Nancy’s Boy pie and the Pink Lady cupcake.  Overheard: “food service is equal parts ballet and roller derby!”
Part of the Muddy’s family since February ‘08

Lea: sugar slinger

Lea has her masters in photography and teaches from time to time at UofM.  While at Muddy’s, she can usually be found icing cupcakes, making fresh coffee, and helping cool peeps out at the bakery case.  She has a wicked wit and is super-sweet to everyone!  Overheard: “Will we have mimosas?”
Part of the Muddy’s family since March ‘10

Ethan: cake overlord

You probably recognize Ethan from his latte-slinging days at High Point Coffee (before its sad demise) and we’re so happy that he’s brought his wry wit and awesome smile to Muddy’s! Ethan is not only amazing at helping you pick out which baked goods to try, he’s a metal-worker and artist and all-around super dude!  Overheard: “need me to bring my drill?  Fix something?”
Part of the Muddy’s family since September ‘09

Karen: register whiz

Karen can usually be found perched in front of the register answering the phone and ringing up purchases. She is always willing to lend a helping hand to refill coffee, do a load of dishes, and other small things that make her co-workers lives easier. She’s our ‘news-hound’ and seems to always have an interesting news-bite or two to share with the group.  Overheard: “I’m so GLAD you came in!”
Part of the Muddy’s family since January ‘09.

Amanda R: cashier, customer service pro

Amanda spends most of her time at Muddy’s slinging sweets behind the counter or chatting folks up at the register, but she sometimes bakes too and when she does, it’s awesome!  She’s a very accomplished photographer and loves to experiment with vegan desserts.  Overheard: “that’s what she said!”
Part of the Muddy’s family since December ‘09

Jeff: baking king

Jeff is one of the super-stellar bakers who rocks the Underground.  He spends spare time hunting and pursuing his business degree.  Jeff is quick with a smile for everyone and makes a mean pot pie!
Part of Muddy’s family since February ‘10

Tammy: baker at the Underground

Tammy has lived all over the world and brings that appreciation for people and places of all kinds to Muddy’s.  She is an amazing baker, accomplished handy-woman, and incredibly organized.  Her background in engineering is a huge asset as she is constantly searching for ways to improve efficiency.  Tammy never panics, even when we’re running out of prozac, and keeps us all sane with her mellow mood and wicked sense of humor.
Part of the Muddy’s family since July ‘09

Julie: baker and lunch maker

Julie and her husband had a pizza place downtown for years before she dedicated a long time to working for the Red Cross.  She has recently decided to get back to her roots in food service and we’re so glad she did!  She is a riot to work with and always has a kind word for everyone.   Overheard: “that is so stinkin’ cute!”
Part of the Muddy’s family since August ‘09

Chris: baker dude

Chris is a baker extraordinaire who moonlights as an actor in the Memphis theatre scene.  He has an absolutely side-splitting sense of humor and entertains us all with funny accents and random movie quotes.  He is currently lobbying management to make a “Men of Muddy’s” calendar to sell to benefit a charity.  We’ll keep you posted.  Overheard: “I’m a dude!!!”
Part of the Muddy’s family since March ‘10

Jessica: Underground baker

Jessica’s is a face you won’t usually see in the bakery since she’s usually rocking the kitchen in the Underground, getting lots of goodies baked and iced with her sidekicks.  She has interned on an organic farm and is interested in herbalism and community activism.  She is an absolute sweetie and we’re glad to have her back after her farming hiatus!  Overheard: “ooh, I’m going to clean that up, I promise!”
Part of the Muddy’s family since August ‘08

Wejay: customer service sunshine

Wejay brightens the place up with her sunny smile and endless energy.  She’s a lifelong Memphian and has never met a stranger.  Her absolute favorite dessert is the Pucker Up cupcake; “when I eat one, I put the wrapper in my mouth to make sure I got all of it.”  She keeps us all super-energized and laughing all day!  Overheard: “it’s the bomb dot com!!!”
Part of the Muddy’s family since August ‘09

Christie: early bird baker

Christie came to us from High Point Church (her husband is one of the pastors!) and is an absolute phenom in the kitchen.  She has an amazing amount of energy at the crack of dawn and is cracking jokes and eggs right from the get-go.  She ices beautiful cakes and is a great addition to the morning team.
Part of the Muddy’s family since April ‘10

Anjelica: customer service belle

Anjelica can usually be spotted behind the bakery case filling the boxes with delicious baked goods and helping our customers make their selections.  She is a pink and pearls girl who brings her sweet smile and outgoing personality to the bakery every day.
Part of the Muddy’s family since June ‘10

Mark: man o’ the van and supply officer

Mark is the guy behind the scenes who drives the van full of baked deliciousness from our second kitchen in Midtown to the bakery. He also keeps track of our supplies, does the grocery runs, etc. He is always quick to help and makes sure we’re always stocked with sugar, flour, and butter!  Overheard: “oh, you have enough flour?  What do you call THIS?  I’m getting more.”
Part of the Muddy’s family since October ‘09

Karen M: micro-ninja

Karen is a recent addition to the family and we’re already so impressed!  She is proof that big things can come in small packages.  A micro-ninja, she whips up icings and rolls out pie doughs like a champ.  Her first day on the job she iced a thousand cupcakes.  One. Thousand. Cupcakes.  Yeah, baby.  Karen is also an accomplished painter and can always be counted on for awesome movie recommendations and a sincere smile.
Part of the Muddy’s family since April ‘10

Nicci:  cupcake sweetie

Nicci moved to Memphis to live with her fiance and found Muddy’s and became addicted.  Luckily, we were hiring so now I guess you could say she’s addicted to her job.  Nicci does a TON of things around the bakery to make life sweet for her coworkers and customers alike and can usually be found brewing fresh coffee, answering the phone, refilling the napkins, and tidying up the customer areas… all at the same time.  She’s freaking awesome.
Part of the Muddy’s family since April ‘10

Jasmin:  cupcake whiz

Jasmin is another part-timer who makes our lives sooo awesome.  She splits her time between the shop and the Underground kitchen and brings her awesome can-do attitude everywhere.  She’s totally fearless and is always willing to learn new skills and tackle new challenges.  She LOVES our customers and we love her!
Part of the Muddy’s family since June ‘10

Bill: early bird baker

Bill is no stranger to food service; he’s worked as a cook and a barista and is rocking the world with his mad baking skillz.  He’s got a great sense of humor and lots of energy.  He’s bringing the heat to Muddy’s mornings and we’re thrilled to have him!
Part of the Muddy’s family since July ‘10

Kathleen: “Warren”

If you know your Empire Records, you know Warren. While Kathleen has never held us up at gunpoint, she is an honorary staffer (and Lea’s best friend) and as soon as we can lure her away from her real job, we will! She is a regular at the bakery, events, craft socials, etc and makes all our days bright when she joins in the fun.
Part of the Muddy’s family since March ‘10

Kitty McClain:  alter-ego, baker, and punk rocker

Kitty is Kat’s twin sis who also works in the bakery.  She loves whipping up new pies, cookies, and cakes and is almost always rocking out.  She thinks it’s hilarious to write “bite me” on almost any baked good.  While Kat has to balance books, pay bills, and be the boss, Kitty just bakes and has fun.  She loves to play dress-up (everything from Joan Jett to June Cleaver), chat with the regulars, and use the broom as a mic.  If there’s one thing the sisters agree on, it’s that pie is the most superior food ever.
Part of the Muddy’s family since February ‘08

Our Reserve Force

We’re super-lucky to have some kick-A people to call on when the chips are down or we need an extra hand. Laurel, LC, Preston, Paula, and Holly D rock our world!

Behind the Scenes: the support Kat couldn’t do without!

These are the folks that are the reason Kat isn’t in therapy 24/7!
Mom (Jan) is a super-awesome realtor with Crye-Leike, yet she still makes time to hang out in the bakery folding bakery boxes like a champ.
Dad (Wake) is a pilot with Pinnacle Airlines and a budding pianist, yet he still spends countless hours every week helping Kat with accounting, taxes, etc.
Thomas works at MIFA and is a volunteer lacrosse coach for WSHS, but is constantly providing ideas and problem-solving solutions that save Kat’s sanity.
All these people do a lot to make Muddy’s possible and I thank them so much for their love and support!!!