Siblings Fulfill a Childhood Dream by Opening Sweet Sisters Bake Shop in Boulder

Jordan and Sydney Klinkerman, ages 24 and 26, respectively, grew up in rural Nebraska before moving to Boulder, where they turned a childhood dream into reality with the opening of Sweet Sisters Bake Shop earlier this year.

"We've talked about owning a cake shop together since back in high school," says Jordan. "My sister was obsessed with Cake Boss, and we always wanted to open a bakery that was as elaborate and fun as that. We had talked about it being a place that specialized in lavish cakes."

The Klinkermans received extensive mentoring from Kim and Jake Rosenbarger while working at their shop, Kim and Jake's Cakes. At the beginning of this year, the siblings officially purchased the south Boulder business located at 641 South Broadway from the couple in a friendly acquisition, allowing the Rosenbargers to focus on their packaged-goods brand, Kim and Jake's Gluten-Free.

“We are so fortunate to have Jordan and Sydney take over the cake shop," says Jake. "They are fantastic people who share our values; we couldn’t have asked for better custodians to carry the torch.”

Sweet Sisters Bake Shop specializes in celiac-friendly, gluten-free baked goods such as cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more. Its specialties include gluten-free baguettes, which are frequently sold out by midday; decadent carrot cake; and its signature Herbs de Provence cake. It offers nut-free, vegan, corn-free and soy-free cakes and can accommodate the majority of allergies.
The bakery, like the former Kim and Jake's Cakes, is dedicated to using premium ingredients and making sure that every visitor feels at home. Jordan and Sydney spent five years working for the Rosenbargers, and they attribute their success to the lessons they learned from them.

Sydney initially started working at Kim and Jake's Cake as a part of an internship at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. "I started as the assistant for everyone, so I was doing frosting, cookies and filling in wherever they needed me," says Sydney. "And then I became the baker full-time, and then we were really short-staffed, and I was like, 'My sister could come help! She wants part-time hours,' and she just loved the job, too."

Although Jordan joined Kim and Jake’s Cakes as a part-time worker to help out around the shop, she ended up taking over as baker for her sister, who became the store's decorator. "We kind of worked our way through the whole shop," Sydney says. "Jake and Kim just mentored us throughout the whole process. They wanted to hand it down to somebody, and since we were sisters, I think it was just the perfect opportunity."

"When I took over as manager in 2019, that's when I really think that Jake started to trust us more with what was going on on the business side of things," Jordan recalls. "I remember after a year working there, Jake asked me if I had ever wanted to own a cake shop, and I remember telling him that owning our own store was always our dream. And then, four years later, he offered to sell the business to us."

In September 2022, the sisters found out that they would be taking over the business at the start of the new year. Sweet Sisters was registered as a new business "because we couldn’t keep their license," Sydney explains. "They have a separate bread business, so we had to separate our business out for that reason. We had no idea how to start a business, so we spent a lot of time googling questions like, 'How do you open a business?'"
Sydney and Jordan were able to obtain a business loan to fund Sweet Sisters, and now that the business is up and running, Sydney manages the culinary creativity while Jordan oversees the financial aspects.

"Our partnership works well because we both enjoy what the other isn't as good at," Jordan says. "When we first took over, we were both terrified. It was just four months of us sitting at home on the computer, doing paperwork, getting the right licensing and making sure everything was in order. We really slowly switched the name, so when people came in at the start of the year, it was still called Kim and Jake's Cakes for the first two months. And then, when we started introducing Sweet Sisters, we got a lot of questions for a few months, but as of now, I think people are used to the name change."

Jordan adds that despite the change in ownership, sales have averaged what they were in previous quarters when the Rosenbargers were still in charge. "All of the shop's regulars still come here," she says. "Sales have been strong for our first year in business."

"People that come here have come to know us over the years," Sydney says. "It's not like we're new to the shop; we've been working here for years. Plus, the people who come here generally like to support small businesses, so they're usually happy to support another small business that's run by people they trust."

When first-time visitors swing by the shop, one of the first questions they ask is whether or not it's challenging working with a sibling.
"We don't fight as much as I think people think," Sydney says. "Of course, we have our days, but we work really well together. I think the harder part is that we both feel kind of young, which is hard. I'm really glad we started, but most people with businesses are like thirty or forty. We're winging it, but the respect has been there, and I think it's because we are so passionate about what we do."

The sisters also knew that their mentors would be there for them if they needed support. "Having Kim and Jake here to help us out has been a huge relief," Sydney says. "Even outside of work, Jake and Kim have always been there for us."

Earlier this year, when the sisters had a problem with their baguettes because of humidity, Jake spent weeks working with them to get the bread back to normal. "Even though it's not their shop anymore, Jake still cares about this place and, of course, for us," Jordan says. "Jake wanted to make sure we were okay, and we really appreciate the effort he put in to helping Sweet Sisters get our baguettes back on track after some unusual weather."

As they look to the future, the sisters are working on a number of exciting projects, including interior and exterior updates to make the place fit the Sweet Sisters vibe. "We've been thinking about getting into shipping and more stores because there still aren't enough yummy gluten-free products on the shelves," Sydney says. "We are looking into getting a bigger location closer to Denver at some point because we know people drive all the way out here to pick up their cake, but this spot is really nice, so we are potentially looking into it being a second location, but there are no concrete plans."

While their previous employers focused on the wholesale market, trying to whip out as many cakes as possible to go to grocery stores, Sweet Sisters is focusing on the custom cake and wedding cake crowd.

"These are not just your standard birthday cakes; Sweet Sisters is making all kinds of crazy cakes," Sydney says. "It's starting to get out there that elaborate cakes are our specialty from our Instagram and Facebook pages, which is nice, and we've got plans to do even more. I'm excited to continue building Sweet Sisters and continuing to create the cakes that I've been dreaming about baking forever."

Sweet Sisters Bake Shop is located at 641 South Broadway in Boulder and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, visit sweetsistersboulder.com.