Sweetie Pie’s Bakery recently opened up to start serving an array of sweet treats on Main Street in Downtown St. Charles.

Lydia Allen, a 21-year-old entrepreneur, started the bakery.  Allen said the idea to start up her business came naturally as she has been decorating desserts since she was 14 years old. She credits her mother for some of her baking knowledge.

Since she was 16 years old, Allen had aspirations of owning a bakery. After finding the current Main Street space, which was formerly a gift shop, Allen was able to open up shop within four months.

“I can’t imagine doing anything different,” Allen said. “So it’s gonna be my life forever.”

Although Allen said the community has been very receptive to her new business venture, the Fort Zumwalt East High School alumna said it wasn’t easy to get the respect she deserves because of her age.

“The whole process [of starting a business] is a lot harder being young because people don’t take you very seriously,” Allen said. “That’s probably one of the biggest hurdles you have to get through because people judge you by your age. It’s always been that way for me until someone meets me and gets to know the passion behind it all.”

The name of the bakery was inspired by Allen’s grandparents, as her grandfather used to call her grandmother “Sweetie Pie” as a pet name. Allen describes her grandparents as her “biggest fans.”

Sweetie Pie’s Bakery is located at 519 South Main St. and is open from Tuesday through Sunday. Sweetie Pie’s offers a 10% discount to Lindenwood students and faculty members with a valid university ID.

Allen said attention to detail sets Sweetie Pie’s apart from the average bakery.

“We do everything fresh and try to make unique flavors, unique designs and keep people coming back for something different,” she said. “We really like to set ourselves apart by being friendly, welcoming, and inviting.”

Sweetie Pie’s sells a variety of sweets ranging from custom cakes, macarons, cheesecakes, pies, cupcakes, cookies and brownies. The bakery will be selling chocolate-covered strawberries and Valentine’s Day-themed desserts for the upcoming holiday.

Allen runs Sweetie Pie’s with a staff of nine people. This includes Sam Bauer, who is a baker responsible for making the macarons. Bauer said what she enjoys the most about Sweetie Pie’s is the fun working environment.

“[I love] the people I work with and the people who come in,” Bauer said. “I like seeing how everyone comes in and eats my macarons and they’re like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s so good’.”

In addition to the main seating area and the outdoor patio seating, Sweetie Pie’s offers a private event space upstairs.

Allen said she hopes to open up more locations around the St. Louis area, but is mainly focused on operating the current Main Street space.