Pastries have begun to rival the sourdough bread craze and Nnenna Jimmy is not mad about it one bit. The owner and sole creator of Sweet Haven could not be happier than to share her creations with her clients.
First starting her cottage business in 2025, Jimmy shared she is both thrilled and at times overwhelmed by the love and support her business has received.
The name “Sweet Haven,” was inspired by her love for sweets and the peace it brings her making them.
Jimmy, a self-taught baker, has had a love for baking since she was a little girl.
“I used to bake when I was little, just for fun. I would bake with my Easy-Bake oven,” she said, sharing that baking brings her a peace and calm, as well as a happiness sharing with others.
“I taught myself how to make pop tarts because that was a favorite childhood treat for me and my siblings,” she said. “I thought that would be super cute and fun to make that homemade without all the unnecessary ingredients in it.”
Yet these aren’t any old pop tarts, Jimmy’s pop tarts have gained her a lot of popularity and buzz. Earlier this spring a Reel on her sweet treats went viral, prompting people from as far as the Bay Area to visit the Oakdale Morning Market in search of heavenly creations.
“That was crazy,” she said of the humbling response for her first Morning Market of the 2026 year.
In anticipation of some positive business, the baker explained that the night prior to the market she “pulled an all nightery.” The result: she sold out of 300 pastries in two short hours.
Jimmy’s sweet treats include: pop tarts in five different flavors, New York style cookies (larger cookies which are sometimes stuffed), cinnamon rolls, coffee cake and croissants.
“As much as I love making specialty pastries, I do like a classic pastry like a croissant,” she said. “You can’t go wrong with those.”
And while you can’t go wrong, it’s also important to get it right. Jimmy shared it took her six months to master the croissant, noting that with each try she would study and make note of what to tweak before getting it just right.
“A lot of the treats I do make, connect back to family members and friends,” she said. “It brings memories to people when you bring them sweet treats.”
By day, Jimmy works as a barista, a job she’s grateful for, yet her passion is in the mixer.
“It’s a side hustle, but I really do love it and I’d like to go further with it eventually,” she said of her Sweet Haven business. “A storefront is the dream for everyone, but it’s only my second year. I’ll get there eventually.”
Currently, Sweet Haven creations are only available at varying Farmer’s Markets, which can be found on her Instagram page sweethaven.mwl. On occasion, her pastries can also be found at Refuge Coffee in Oakdale and she has hopes of partnering with another coffee shop in the future.
“For me it’s art, but it tastes really good,” Jimmy said. “To be able to create anything from flour, it’s kind of crazy. It’s like wow, I really made that. Literally from flour and butter.”
Starting the business, Jimmy shared has taught her patience. It’s also created a network for her she would have once never imagined.
“The community is really big to me,” she said of the market vendors, describing herself as shy. “Talking to all the other vendors at the (Morning) Market. Seeing how passionate everyone is about their business and helping one another. I’ve gotten a lot of help from every single person. I love the community, everyone’s so helpful.”
The success of her entrance into the Morning Market is something she’s not taking for granted.
“This feels amazing,” she admitted of the response to her sweet treats. “I cried for like two weeks, I’ll probably still cry. When people message me or repost stuff, it genuinely makes me happy.”
