It was a crisp morning in Downtown Oakville as I walked along Lakeshore Road. For a second there, I felt like the main character in a Hallmark movie, making my way to my next appointment, while other shop owners cheerfully flipped their signs to open. Before I knew it, my destination stood in front of me: Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. 

With its hot pink accents and cheerful cursive letters, I had a hint that its owners, Kelly Childs and Erinn Weatherbie, were just as extra and colourful as their storefront. I was, quite literally, in for a treat. 

Kelly Childs and Erinn Weatherbie are the mother–daughter duo behind Kelly’s Bake Shoppe, a popular bakery known for being 100% gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and peanut-free; or as I like to say, “all the frees.” 

What began as a first and only location in Downtown Burlington, now has a new home in Oakville since December 2024; and a soon-to-be Burlington location reopening in early 2026.

Their cupcakes were recognized by BuzzFeed as being among the best in the world, ranking number three on its international list. But the pair’s story didn’t begin in the cupcake world. It started with a bold idea and a leap of faith that would transform not only their lives but their community.

Kelly never imagined she’d one day be running a world-famous bake shop. 

“I went to high school, and I didn’t go to post-secondary school,” Kelly said. “I hated school so much that I couldn't wait to get out of my jail sentence. I looked for absolute freedom.”

Freedom. That word seems to define her entire life story. From her teenage years in Scarborough, where she was surrounded by “muscle cars, rock and roll, and bonfires on the Bluffs,” to her early work in fitness at Toronto’s SkyDome and the finance business, she was always driven by independence. 

Her father, an abstract artist and model builder, had quietly instilled in her the power of self-reliance. “He was an architectural designer, and he was a model builder and an abstract artist,” she said. “That’s how our family survived. He did that for about twenty-five years.” 

Creativity, it turned out, was in her blood.

By the time Kelly settled in Burlington, she had already lived several lives — two marriages, one divorce, and a string of professional adventures that always came back to her entrepreneurial heart. 

“Erinn decided to go to McMaster University,” Kelly said. “At that point, I was living in the Durham Region. When we took her to McMaster for her first day and dropped her off into the dorms, I was literally sobbing. We went for lunch in Burlington, and I said, ‘Wow, this Burlington is so magical. I feel like I’m in California.’ It felt like California, all these outdoor patios, balconies, and this cool vibe. That afternoon we looked at condos, found one to rent, and I moved within a week to be near Erinn.”

For Erinn, Burlington would become the foundation for everything that followed. Erinn grew up as an only child of divorced parents, and by 2008 she was studying at McMaster University. But something didn’t sit right.

“I could get good grades and write great essays,” Erinn said, “but whenever I was there, I was kind of like, is this really it? What kind of job am I getting from here? I just felt like I was part of the machine. I didn't ever feel like I was making a difference.”

That yearning for meaning and connection, became the spark that would eventually ignite one of Canada’s most beloved bakeries. 

“In 2010 we opened Kindfood,” Erinn said. “It was a juice bar, café, bakery, and grocery store. We opened it because we had traveled to California a lot. We had done exploration of healthy lifestyles. There was nowhere to eat like that at the time.”

Kelly added, “We were having articles written about us calling us the pioneers in Canada for that type of spot. We literally brought California with us because we loved it so much.”

Kindfood became an instant success. A small 200-square-foot kitchen with lineups out the door. “People were coming in saying, ‘I need a cake, I need thirty cupcakes,’” Erinn said. “We looked at each other and said, we need to open a place that is strictly a bakery.” 

By December 2012, Kelly’s Bake Shoppe was born at 401 Brant Street.

Everything about the place, from the gluten-free recipes to the warm, California-meets-Burlington vibe, reflected their shared vision. But their success didn’t come without obstacles. Not long after Kindfood’s rise, they received a cease-and-desist letter from a company in the US. 

“They had priority trademarks on the name Kind,” Kelly explained. “We figured it’s just because we became so popular. We had to change it, so we came up with the name Lettuce Love Café, which was a play on words, ‘let us love’ everybody.”

They sold Lettuce Love in 2017 to focus entirely on Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. 

And then came the explosion – national television, international recognition, and a devoted fanbase that turned their cupcakes into something of a movement. 

“There was a lot of momentum when that literary agent Paul Fedorko in New York found my blog,” Kelly said. “He gave us a cookbook offer with Penguin Random House. That was huge. The book Made with Love came out in 2016.”

They were on national TV fourteen times. BuzzFeed ranked them among the top three cupcake shops in the world. Their brownies and cookies won awards from Toronto’s vegan and vegetarian associations. 

“Those brownies were created with Metallica playing in the background,” Kelly laughed. 

By 2018, their block on Brant Street had been sold to Reserve Properties from Toronto, and the uncertainty of redevelopment loomed. For years, promises were made and delayed, until one email in March 2025 changed everything. 

“The developer said, we hate to be the bearer of bad news but we’re giving you sixty days to leave as of May 3rd,” Erinn said. “We ended up getting a week extension to May 9th, and our final day open to the public at 401 Brant was on May 4th. We emptied the entire business in the five days that followed.”

The community response was overwhelming. 

“On May 4th we had about 4,000 people show up,” Erinn said. “The line-up was out the door and around the corner. People came sobbing to us saying our business changed their lives. In that moment, it was this awakening; to realize how impactful we’ve been.”

That outpouring of love became a reminder of purpose. 

“You really realize how much you’ve impacted people’s lives in moments like that,” Kelly added.

But almost a year before the closure, something serendipitous had already unfolded. 

“July 31st, 2024, Erinn and I were sitting in a coffee shop,” Kelly said. “I said randomly, what would it look like to open in Oakville?”

“I pulled out my laptop and looked on realtor.ca,” Erinn said. “I saw this listing in Downtown Oakville. It had been on the market for twenty-four hours. The rent was great. I was like, mom, we need to call them right now.” 

They got it — and by December 15th, 2024, Kelly’s Bake Shoppe Oakville was open.

“Had we not opened Oakville we would be in a very different situation right now,” Kelly admitted. “We would have had to find some sort of overnight industrial unit to bake from. We wouldn’t have had a retail presence.”

Just months later, around the closing of their first location, came a new opportunity in Burlington. 

“It was a listing for 463 Brant Street, a little historical building on the corner,” Kelly said. “Erinn found it on realtor.ca.” 

However, the space proved to be small for their needs.

“When the landlord offered us the whole building (461 and 463 Brant Street), we said yes,” Erinn said. “The owners of Brant Florist were retiring. The building is from 1850, older than what we had at 401 Brant. It’s about 3,500 square feet on one floor. We’re doing a massive renovation including a lot of structural work, so we’re aiming to be open in early 2026.

It’s another chapter in a story that keeps evolving; always rooted in purpose. For Kelly, that purpose is connection. 

“We always wanted to pull ourselves out of the Kelly’s Bake Shoppe brand, because we’re more than cupcakes,” Kelly said. “We’re about showing people to lead with connection.”

That philosophy now extends beyond the bakery, through their podcast The Kelly & Erinn Show. 

“We wanted to have the opportunity to connect with our customers on another level,” Kelly explained. “When we lost 401 Brant, it was a huge loss. Doing the show has been healing.”

Erinn added, “That’s part of our success. We’ve pulled ourselves out of being just Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. People resonate with the personality behind it. You trust businesses more when you actually know who the founders are.”

Their message is as sweet as their cupcakes. 

“Kelly’s Bake Shoppe as a whole… we want to bring people together,” Erinn said. “Our business has represented connection, joy, and inclusion. More often than not, when people have allergies or food sensitivities, they’re excluded from fun moments. We always wanted people to be included and have fun. To me our message is about connection and community.”

Kelly added. “More often than not, we get messages saying, ‘Thank you for inspiring me to live my life differently.’ It’s about encouraging people to hold themselves accountable, to become this authentic person. Every day counts to maximize your contribution out there. Even if it’s just showing kindness, giving a hug, looking people in the eyes, connecting with the heart.”

That heart-forward energy extends to everything they do; from supporting food banks, dog rescues, and the local girls’ hockey team, to selling candles made by Jacob, a young man with Down syndrome. “It’s just normalizing love,” Kelly said.

Speaking of love, Kelly’s customers love the Skinny Cookie, which is their best-seller. 

“The Skinny Cookie has been our best-seller since day one,” Erinn said. “People stock up their freezers. And the Mile High Brownie, we’ve had it since Kindfood in 2010. You’d never know it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and peanut-free.”

Somehow these two women work great as a team. Kelly is the hard-rock Metallica girl, whereas Erinn is a country girl at heart. Their contrasting energies keep the business vibrant. 

“Erinn’s much calmer than me,” Kelly said. “I’m definitely reactive. I’m just out there. No filter. Erinn is very much peace.”

“I’m much more methodical,” Erinn laughed. “If we’re moving forward with something, I’m looking at it from all angles, whereas Kelly’s like, ‘Okay, let’s do it now.’ She has this creative vision, and I compute it for a second and then say, okay, how do we execute this?”

Kelly said, “Some of the things I come up with are wildly out there. Erinn is an amazing interpreter. She can understand what I’m conveying and articulate it.”

They may live north of the GTA now, but Burlington still holds their hearts. “It’s home to me still,” Kelly said. “From 2008 until 2025, it was my home. I love the people and the businesses. I get really emotional because it was the birth of something so big.”

“For me,” Erinn added, “my entire professional career has been Burlington. We’ve had people drive from London, Barrie, Montreal, even Buffalo, Oklahoma, and beyond just to visit. They want to be part of the vibe… that third place.”

Kelly explained it this way: “You’ve got your home and your work, but your third place is your community. That’s what we became to thousands of people.”

It’s hard to imagine that what started in a 200-square-foot space in 2010 has grown into an internationally recognized brand. Kelly’s Bake Shoppe isn’t just about cupcakes. It’s about creating connection; between people, between moments, between what’s sweet and what’s real.

When asked what advice she’d give to those starting their own business, Erinn paused. 

“Things won’t always go your way,” Erinn said. “That’s okay. We’ve been served so many curveballs — closures, COVID, cancel culture — but you have to trust that what’s on the other side is bigger and better. If you try to control it, it won’t be healthy for you. Just trust that it’ll work out.”

Kelly agreed. “With the pain is when you have the growth,” she said. “If everything goes smoothly, there’s no opportunity to reflect. When you go into business for yourself, you have to make sure that you love it. Because if you don’t, you’ll never be happy doing it. Don’t do it because you think it’s cool to be an entrepreneur. You have to be connected to it on a deeply heartfelt level. That’s what will take you to the next level.”

In the end, as Kelly said, “There’s nothing that will defeat you when it’s your purpose."