OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Baked After Dark has been a great place to grab a sweet treat in the Benson area. For five years, owner Stacey Johnson has perfected cookie baking.
“It’s been a labor of love,” Johnson said. “We really built it from the ground up.”
Lately, however, the ingredients she used to make her cookies are harder to come by, and it’s costing Johnson more to purchase what she needs to keep the business going.
Johnson’s also having to pay more for rent, gas and for labor as Nebraska just raised its minimum wage to $10.50/hr this year.
“We just had to figure out how we could still do what we love while continuing to make a profit doing it,” Johnson said.
The challenges were the perfect recipe for Johnson to close her doors, deciding not to raise prices any further.
“To keep passing on those costs isn’t right,” she said. “We just gotta figure out a way to do it without all the overhead.”
While her business is closing, this isn’t the end for Johnson or her cookies. She’s hoping to continue outside the brick-and-mortar. She hopes to be around for her loyal customers.
“That's our goal,” she said. “We just have to figure an easier, more efficient way to do it.”
Baked After Dark will remain open until January 21.
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