• Subscribe
    • Franklin Living Magazine
    • Services
      • About Us
      • Subscribe
      • Policies
      • Terms of use
      • Submit a news tip
      • Submit a photo
      • Birth announcement
      • Birthday announcement
      • Engagement announcement
      • Wedding announcement
      • Submit a Classified Ad
      • Letter to the Editor
    • Classifieds
    • E-editions
    • Public Notices
      • Public Notices
      • Alabama Public Notices
    • Subscribe
    • Franklin Living Magazine
    • Services
      • About Us
      • Subscribe
      • Policies
      • Terms of use
      • Submit a news tip
      • Submit a photo
      • Birth announcement
      • Birthday announcement
      • Engagement announcement
      • Wedding announcement
      • Submit a Classified Ad
      • Letter to the Editor
    • Classifieds
    • E-editions
    • Public Notices
      • Public Notices
      • Alabama Public Notices

Franklin County Times
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyles
  • Obituaries
  • Records
  • Subscribe
  • Services
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Policies
  • Terms of use
  • Submit a news tip
  • Submit a photo
  • Birth Announcement
  • Birthday announcement
  • Engagement announcement
  • Wedding announcement
  • Submit a Classified Ad
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Classifieds
  • Public Notices
    Franklin County Times
      • Site logo
      • Home
      • News
        • Russellville
        • Red Bay
        • Phil Campbell
        • Franklin County
        • Photo Galleries
        • Sponsored Content
      • Sports
        • Belgreen Bulldogs
        • Phil Campbell Bobcats
        • Red Bay Tigers
        • Russellville Golden Tigers
        • Tharptown Wildcats
        • Vina Red Devils
        • College Sports
        • Sports Columnists
      • Opinion
        • Letters to the Editor
        • Columnists
        • Editorials
      • Lifestyles
        • Birthdays
        • Births
        • Couples
        • Food
        • Features
      • Obituaries
      • Records
        • Sheriff’s Report
        • Marriages
        • Land Transactions
        • Police Reports
      • Special Sections
      • Site logo
      • Home
      • News
        • Russellville
        • Red Bay
        • Phil Campbell
        • Franklin County
        • Photo Galleries
        • Sponsored Content
      • Sports
        • Belgreen Bulldogs
        • Phil Campbell Bobcats
        • Red Bay Tigers
        • Russellville Golden Tigers
        • Tharptown Wildcats
        • Vina Red Devils
        • College Sports
        • Sports Columnists
      • Opinion
        • Letters to the Editor
        • Columnists
        • Editorials
      • Lifestyles
        • Birthdays
        • Births
        • Couples
        • Food
        • Features
      • Obituaries
      • Records
        • Sheriff’s Report
        • Marriages
        • Land Transactions
        • Police Reports
      • Special Sections
    Amazing Bakes: Red Bay woman finds sweet success with home-based bakery
    Features, Food, Lifestyles, LIFESTYLES -- FEATURE SPOT, Top News Stories FRONT PAGE, Z - News Main, Z - TOP HOME
     By  Alison James Published 
    9:56 am Tuesday, February 16, 2021

    Amazing Bakes: Red Bay woman finds sweet success with home-based bakery

  • 🞬
    ❮❯

    FRANKLIN LIVING—

    For Red Bay’s Glenda Timbs, it all started in high school.

    “I saw a girl do a decorated cake, and I said, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” Timbs said. It’s been a few years since her love of baking was first inspired, but Timbs has now made her dream job a reality with Amazing Bakes.

    Timbs operates Amazing Bakes in Red Bay under Alabama’s Cottage Food Law. According to the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, home-based chefs and bakers can sell certain products directly to consumers after passing a food safety course. The Cottage Food Law went into effect in June 2014.

    “I do it as I can fit it in my schedule,” explained Timbs, who has a day job at a local plant. “It challenges me creatively. It’s like a meditation to me. It’s nothing for me to start a cake at nine or 10 o’clock at night, and it’s one of the things that I love.”

    When Timbs was first honing her baking interest and skills as a high school student, she found she could pursue her passion through taking a home economics course at the Tishomingo Vocational Center – her family lived in Belmont at the time, having moved there from Cleveland, Ohio, when Timbs was 10. It was in this home ec class that Timbs said she began to develop the foundation of what would one day become her home-based bakery.

    “We started off with the basics of cooking – how to be safe and prepare foods that were sanitary for people to eat,” Timbs explained. From there, she and her fellow students advanced into using kitchen equipment, each lesson building on the one before. “Every week we cooked one meal a week for the faculty. As we grew, we started learning the fun things like cake decorating.” She found the class “really taught us from the ground up” – and not just about cooking. “The teacher there – you learned how to cook, and at the same time she taught you how to budget and how to figure the cost of your meals and things like that,” Timbs said.

    She still leans on the principles she first learned in that high school course as she prices out her ingredients and products to make her growing bakery financially successful. “It’s very humbling to think you learned that back in high school, and you’re still able to carry it over into today’s home business and the economics of your home.”

    Throughout the years Timbs said she has been the go-to baker for family events – and she finally found she was ready to take that next step. Amazing Bakes launched in 2018 and is registered with the state, county and city under the Cottage Food Law. With Amazing Bakes up and running, Timbs is living out the dream that was inspired in her teens.

    “This could be my stepping stone to retirement,” said Timbs. For now, as a cottage baker, she operates completely out of her home, using her own residential oven, refrigerator and other facilities; one day, however, she said she envisions owning a small hometown bakery where she can sell cake by the slice and other treats, maybe with a cup of coffee – the kind of place she loves to visit on vacation.

    “At every turn, I’m a one-person operation,” said Timbs, “but the support from the people around me has just been wonderful. That’s what it takes for you to make it. If I didn’t have that support, then I couldn’t have my business.”

    Timbs’ “amazing bakes” include everything from cookies and confections to cupcakes and tiered wedding cakes. She also takes pride in her artisan caramel turtles. Depending on the orders placed, she said she tries to space out work to give every creation the time and attention it deserves.

    “One day I might make icing and mix colors. I like to bake cakes the day before … If I bake cookies, I have to bake those four days ahead because the icing has to harden,” she explained.

    The year 2020 brought a challenge for Timbs, as it did for so many. She put Amazing Bakes on hold for about four months during the pandemic before resuming just before the holidays. Despite the way 2020 impacted her bottom line, Timbs said she has still seen a respectable profit from her burgeoning business – and more importantly, she’s laying the groundwork for long-term success.

    “The first five years, I recognized I would have to buy a lot of equipment – cookie cutters, specific tools for decorating or pans to bake on or shaped pans,” Timbs said. “These five years, I’m really working on getting my repeat customers and grabbing new customers. When I retire – and that’s a ways off – and I have a storefront, people will welcome that.” Timbs said although the pandemic has threatened small businesses like hers, she has confidence in her business’s future. “People will always have celebrations. Even with the COVID, the way we celebrate changes, but you adapt to change with it.

    “I love the fact that a lot of people like to support small business,” she added. “The people of Red Bay – a lot them call me the Cake Lady. They support me.”

    Timbs’ own favorite treat is her red velvet cake with a cream cheese-flavored buttercream. Incorporating unique flavors is a cornerstone for Timbs, with tastes like maple, rum, coffee, orange and coconut making an appearance among her sweet treats. “I love when people tell me I have a really good-tasting cake,” she said.

    Among her favorite cakes she has created were a flamingo cake with ruffles, complete with candy flamingos – pastel blue and pink on the inside, filled with candy that burst out upon the first slice – and a small wedding cake with ruffles and crosses that was “nothing majorly elaborate. Just simple. I really enjoyed that.”

    Of course, tiered cakes remind Timbs of one of her very first baking efforts – a 25th anniversary cake she made for her parents when she was in high school. She and her siblings pooled a portion of their snack money over the course of several weeks to purchase the supplies that were needed. “I did a three-tiered wedding cake to surprise our parents,” she said. “We managed to pull it off … It’s one of the best memories I have.” Her three siblings are, to this day, “my most avid supporters.”

    Under the Cottage Food Law, all of Timbs’ creations must pass directly from her hands into the customers’, and all of her deliveries must take place in Alabama. She does most of her hand deliveries on Saturdays, with the majority of her customer base situated in Red Bay but also spreading out toward Russellville and Hamilton.

    As she continues to grow her business, Timbs said she is focused on meeting her customers’ needs by supplying a superior product and, especially, by expanding her offerings to serve people with special dietary needs, from diabetics to those on a keto diet or who have gluten sensitivities. “There’s a lot of room to grow.”

    Also on Franklin County Times
    PHOTO GALLERY: Jam at Sloss Lake
    Franklin County, Galleries, Lifestyles
    PHOTO GALLERY: Jam at Sloss Lake
    Griffin Traylor 
    July 9, 2025
    Auditor says city’s financial health is very good
    Main, News, Russellville, ...
    Auditor says city’s financial health is very good
    María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
    July 9, 2025
    RUSSELLVILLE -- The city has received what its auditor called a “clean opinion” on its fiscal year 2024 audit, meaning no significant deficiencies or ...
    {"epopulate_editorials_prism":"epopulate_editorials_prism"}
    Place of Grace opens recovery home in Franklin County
    Franklin County, Main, News, ...
    Place of Grace opens recovery home in Franklin County
    María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
    July 9, 2025
    The Place of Grace has opened a new recovery home in Franklin County, offering women a structured, faith-based environment to continue their journey a...
    {"epopulate_editorials_prism":"epopulate_editorials_prism"}
    Hamilton: Title II funding freeze is a concern
    Main, News, Russellville, ...
    Hamilton: Title II funding freeze is a concern
    Alyssa Sutherland For the FCT 
    July 9, 2025
    R U S S E L L V I L L E – Franklin County Superintendent Greg Hamilton is concerned about the status of more than $6 billion in federal education gran...
    {"epopulate_editorials_prism":"epopulate_editorials_prism"}
    Fire Department receives new $2.2M platform truck
    Main, News, Russellville, ...
    Fire Department receives new $2.2M platform truck
    María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
    July 9, 2025
    RUSSELLVILLE Firefighters and city officials showed off the Fire Department’s new $2.2 million 100-foot platform fire truck in a safety demonstration ...
    {"epopulate_editorials_prism":"epopulate_editorials_prism"}
    Palmer certified for fourth term on Russellville Council
    News, Russellville, Z - News Main
    Palmer certified for fourth term on Russellville Council
    María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
    July 9, 2025
    RUSSELLVILLE – The city council approved a certificate of election stating Councilman David Palmer was the only candidate to qualify for Council Distr...
    {"epopulate_editorials_prism":"epopulate_editorials_prism"}
    Summer camps nurture faith, friendship and growth
    Columnists, Opinion
    HERE AND NOW
    Summer camps nurture faith, friendship and growth
    July 9, 2025
    Susie Hovater Malone Columnist During the summer many Franklin County youths enjoy attending summer camps, where they engage in hiking, swimming, spor...
    {"epopulate_editorials_prism":"epopulate_editorials_prism"}
    The prosperity we enjoy depends on Sea Lanes of Communication
    Columnists, Opinion
    The prosperity we enjoy depends on Sea Lanes of Communication
    July 9, 2025
    The Pax Americana, the period since World War II when there have been no major world wars, has led to the greatest period of freedom the world has eve...
    {"epopulate_editorials_prism":"epopulate_editorials_prism"}

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    ❮ ❯
    Latest Local News
    PHOTO GALLERY: Jam at Sloss Lake
    PHOTO GALLERY: Jam at Sloss Lake
    July 9, 2025
    Auditor says city’s financial health is very good
    Auditor says city’s financial health is very good
    RUSSELLVILLE -- The city has received what its auditor called a “clean opinion” on its fiscal year 2024 audit, meaning no significant deficiencies or ...
    July 9, 2025
    Place of Grace opens recovery home in Franklin County
    Place of Grace opens recovery home in Franklin County
    The Place of Grace has opened a new recovery home in Franklin County, offering women a structured, faith-based environment to continue their journey a...
    July 9, 2025
    Hamilton: Title II funding freeze is a concern
    Hamilton: Title II funding freeze is a concern
    R U S S E L L V I L L E – Franklin County Superintendent Greg Hamilton is concerned about the status of more than $6 billion in federal education gran...
    July 9, 2025
    Fire Department receives new $2.2M platform truck
    Fire Department receives new $2.2M platform truck
    RUSSELLVILLE Firefighters and city officials showed off the Fire Department’s new $2.2 million 100-foot platform fire truck in a safety demonstration ...
    July 9, 2025

    More Local News

    Latest Stories
    Municipal elections: Let your voice be heard on Aug. 26
    Qualifying for municipal races across the state, including Franklin County, closed on June 24 leaving several contested races leading up to the Aug. 2...
    July 9, 2025
    TVA surcharge to raise August bills for customers
    RUSSELLVILLE Electricity customers should expect higher bills in August as TVA passes along a surcharge driven by high summer demand and a recent outa...
    July 9, 2025
    Hutcheson participates in CCHS program
    Hutcheson participates in CCHS program
    PHIL CAMPBELL — Rising Phil Campbell High School senior Hudson Hutcheson spent most of his summer at the University of Alabama. An aspiring dentist, h...
    July 9, 2025
    Being struck by lightning was ‘shocking experience’
    Being struck by lightning was ‘shocking experience’
    RUSSELLVILLE — Lisa Henderson was lying on her bed, scrolling through social media sites on her phone and enjoying a cozy, rainy Sunday afternoon with...
    July 9, 2025
    Jeffreys named new head football coach at Red Bay
    Jeffreys named new head football coach at Red Bay
    RED BAY -- Tyler Jeffreys has been named the new head coach at Red Bay High School. Jeffreys is stepping in to replace Heath Childers, who recently re...
    July 9, 2025
    Latest Sports
    Jeffreys named new head football coach at Red Bay
    Jeffreys named new head football coach at Red Bay
    RED BAY -- Tyler Jeffreys has been named the new head coach at Red Bay High School. Jeffreys is stepping in to replace Heath Childers, who recently re...
    July 9, 2025
    Hamilton to play baseball at Blue Mountain College
    Hamilton to play baseball at Blue Mountain College
    RED BAY -- Red Bay High School’s Reed Hamilton has officially signed a scholarship to continue his education and baseball career at Blue Mountain Coll...
    July 9, 2025
    Allison tapped to lead Lady Bobcats softball
    Allison tapped to lead Lady Bobcats softball
    PHIL CAMPBELL -- A familiar face will be leading the Phil Campbell High School Lady Bobcats softball program next season. Darby Allison, a 2007 gradua...
    July 2, 2025
    6 local students accepted into FAME program
    6 local students accepted into FAME program
    Northwest Shoals Community College (NWSCC) has signed 6 Franklin County students to its 2025–26 Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME)...
    July 2, 2025
    Junior golfers hone skills through summer program
    Junior golfers hone skills through summer program
    RUSSELLVILLE -- A young generation of golfers teed off this summer at Twin Pines Country Club, thanks to a local effort to create opportunities for ch...
    July 2, 2025

    More Sports Stories

    x

    Sections

    • Home
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Lifestyles
    • Obits
    • Special Sections
    • Sponsored Content
      • Home
      • News
      • Sports
      • Opinion
      • Lifestyles
      • Obits
      • Special Sections
      • Sponsored Content

    Services

    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise With Us
    • Policies
    • Terms of use
    • Submit a news tip
    • Submit a photo
    • Birth announcement
    • Birthday announcement
    • Engagement announcement
    • Wedding announcement
    • Submit a Classified Ad
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter
      • About Us
      • Subscribe
      • Advertise With Us
      • Policies
      • Terms of use
      • Submit a news tip
      • Submit a photo
      • Birth announcement
      • Birthday announcement
      • Engagement announcement
      • Wedding announcement
      • Submit a Classified Ad
      • Letter to the Editor
      • Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter

    Follow Us

    Copyright

    © , Franklin County Times