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 The wife and husband team of Cheri and Dave Kovacic own Cheri's Bakery. Cheri and Dave are well-trained food professionals, both by formal education and by many years of industry and practical experience. Together they bring a perfect balance of business, technology, creativity and artistry.
Cheri Kovacic literally brings a lifetime of practical experience to the bakery. Since childhood Cheri has had a passion for food preparation.
Cheri obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Foods and Nutrition from Kansas State University in 1986. During college Cheri completed two internships at the American Institute of Baking Research Department. She also worked part-time at the University's Food Service facility. Upon graduation, a manufacturer of bakery dough conditioners, emulsifiers and flavors, hired Cheri. She was responsible for the design and start-up of the experimental bakery where these products were developed and tested.
Cheri's greatest talent is her decorating skills. She has completed several advanced series of cake decorating and has also worked as a cake decorator at a local in-store bakery. This experience, coupled with the formal instructions she received both locally and around the country, has allowed Cheri to become one of the premier cake decorators in Wichita.
Dave Kovacic is a bakery professional with extensive training and experience in the baking industry. He is a graduate of the top three baking schools in the country. He holds a BS Degree in Baking Science and Management from Kansas State University, is a graduate of the American Institute of Baking (AIB), and received a diploma in Retail Baking from Dunwoody Industrial Institute.
For ten years, Dave held positions in Bakery Technical Services, five with General Mills and five with ConAgra Flour Milling. Both positions required extensive travel to many retail, specialty and wholesale bakeries throughout the United States where he provided technical expertise for troubleshooting ingredient and process problems. Dave was also an Instructor of Retail Baking at the AIB. Here he taught many classes and seminars in the technical and managerial operation of retail bakeries.
Dave currently holds a managerial position with a local bakery mix manufacturer.
 With three school-aged children and one toddler, and numerous school functions, providing classroom treats was a common occurrence for Cheri Kovacic. Wanting to send something just a little more special, something unique, Cheri started packing the kids with custom decorated sugar cut-out cookies. Needless-to-say, the children loved them. But it was the teacher's response that sparked the birth of Cheri's Cakes & Cookies. Word spread quickly that the mother of Jill, Erin, Sara and Bryn Kovacic made the prettiest, and best-tasting sugar cut-out cookies.
It was'nt long after that Cheri made the decision to start a small cookie business out of her home. The response was extremely favorable, and the repeat customers were a strong signal that she was putting out a quality product.
Decorated cakes were a perfect tie-in to the decorated cookies. Cheri's experience as a cake decorator at a local grocery store quickly made her aware of the substantial demand, and obvious opportunity, for good tasting cakes decorated artistically. The phone continued to ring, with decorated cakes being ordered just as frequently as the decorated cookies.
During the summer of 2000, the local Farmers Market provided Cheri the opportunity to promote her products to a much larger audience. The cakes and cookies built a strong demand, often selling out well before noon. It was this response that helped convince the Kovacic's that a retail bakery specializing in cakes and cookies could be a successful business venture. Cheri's Cakes and Cookies opened its retail location at 2360 N. Maize Rd on October 4th, 2002.
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