Jonathon Bennett, owner of Belfast Cheesecake Company, opens his first shop after 10 years, offering diverse cheesecake creations.
After working in insurance for 15 years, he made his first cheesecake after finding a simple recipe. That initial success made things really took off.
Speaking with Belfast Live, he mentioned that some customers have supported him for years as he celebrates 10 years in business. His company, Belfast Cheesecake Co., has its own store on Grampian Avenue, and he also sells at St George’s Market.
He enjoys watching the Great British Bake Off and admires its creativity, regretting not studying fashion design. Making cheesecakes lets him express his creativity. The Belfast Cheesecake Company, which started as Death by Cheesecake, has existed for about 10 years.
A friend shared a simple cheesecake recipe, and he started making cheesecakes for friends and family. They urged him to sell them, so he started as Death by Cheesecake, attending Newtownards Market on Saturdays. He built a customer base and a Facebook page, baking at home in a small kitchen.
He started selling at St George’s Market, which was bigger and indoors. He increased from one day to three days and supplies shops, Centras, cafes, and restaurants in addition to filling private orders. He opened his Christmas order book in July, and it closed in two hours with 140+ orders.
Some customers have been with him for eight years, and he only sells cheesecake. He wanted a name featuring “Belfast,” so now it is Belfast Cheesecake Company. He will only sell cheesecake-related products.
His customers allow him to focus on cheesecakes only, and he always looks to bring something new.
He now has his own shop, which offers more diversity.
He has made cheesecake-filled profiteroles and eclairs, along with cheesecake lollipops, and plans on offering about 20-30 flavors and doing more.
He wanted a cheesecake shop like Taboo Donuts where customers could select from many cheesecakes, but retail kept him busy and he put his shop idea on hold.
He shared space with Brownies on the Hill, growing his business and working full-time. He’s from East Belfast, and the shop space opened five minutes from his home because he wanted to stay in East Belfast.
He finds this time exciting because the customer feedback is amazing. People travel from the south, and one customer even flew a cheesecake home to Liverpool, while others visit from across Belfast.
The shop allows experimentation, and he can meet more customers. Friends and family support him, and he is very grateful. A shop dedicated to cheesecake is exciting, and he has many ideas in the works.