By Chanda Temple
When the corner store on his newspaper route stopped selling oatmeal cookies, Dennis Echoles didn’t get discouraged. He got creative.
He figured if he wanted one bad enough, he’d better make it himself.
That one choice turned into a long life of baking on the side. Today, at 71, the Collegeville native, is not only baking those oatmeal cookies but also cakes, pies and brownies that taste like home.
He would make baked goods for co-workers and friends. He officially launched his first business in December 2019 and called it Baked to Order. “People would ask me to bake something, and that’s who I was,” he said. “I would bake to order as people placed orders.”
In June 2020, the newspaper company where he worked, retired him during COVID. Two years later, he rebranded his side baking business and named the business after his adult granddaughter, Amber, which led him to running Amber’s Desserts. “It’s not for me. It’s for generations to come,” he said.
Echoles bakes out of a commissary kitchen in Birmingham’s East Lake neighborhood, where he supplies six Birmingham businesses, including Eugene’s Hot Chicken and Alicia’s Coffee at the A.G. Gaston Motel and Museum. Some of his top sellers are his brownies and “tato” pie, which he spells that way, he jokes, “because ain’t nothing po’ about my pie.”
And his fans, agree, often commenting to camera on his cell phone that his pies are delicious. He often breaks out in a chuckle when interacting with old and new customers as they tell him his pies really do remind them of times when a mother or grandmother pulled out a freshly baked pie from the oven.
.“It gives me great joy to see them enjoying what I do,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s not the word but the reaction they have to it.”
This Saturday, he’ll likely be bringing more smiles and happiness to hearts and tastebuds as he sells his desserts during Momentum’s Leadership Symposium in partnership with Prosper, where entrepreneurs, small business owners and community leaders will gather to learn, connect and grow. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the NexTec building, 1531 Third Ave. North. Event tickets are $20, and admission includes a light breakfast and lunch.
“Momentum’s Second Annual Leadership Symposium powered by Prosper is important for our community, especially now,” said Angela Abdur-Rasheed of Prosper. “It’s a day curated to inspire men and women to action in their lives and the way they lead. Having entrepreneurs like Dennis Echoles in the room as an embodiment of what taking action looks like, will make the experience even more meaningful. Plus, who wouldn’t want to have his amazing sweet treats as part of an event! “
It’s the perfect fit for a man who’s built his second act on faith, flavor and finding joy in the work.
“I retired when I was 66. But I really didn’t retire,” he said, adding that he’s a member of the Better Business Bureau and he’s won several local grants and recognitions for his business since 2019. “I refired.”
He’s poured the grant funding and awards from the likes of REV Birmingham, Renasant Bank and Create BHAM back into his business.
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a food story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.
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