Photo courtesy of Val’s Cheesecakes via Facebook.
Valery Jean-Bart, owner of Val’s Cheesecake, is parting ways with the company after 12 years of ownership, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Since his start in 2012, Jean-Bart has sold cheesecakes to patrons as a fellowship to honor his mother, who he regularly baked with for four years every Sunday. His mother died from breast cancer.
Jean-Bart spent two years moonlighting as a baker after his day job at a civil engineering firm. He baked in the basement of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, where he sold cheesecakes to restaurants until opening his bakery in 2015 and several locations under Jean-Bart, according to previous Advocate reporting.
According to an interview with DMN, Jean-Bart said “it was time” to let go of ownership. He is in the process of securing a trademark license that would be handed over to a new owner. However, if that does not work, he will close the Greenville Avenue shop for a new tenant.
Jean-Bart hasn’t fully put in the apron. He intends to start Val’s Blue Label, which will operate out of the Val’s Cheesecake space on Akard Street as a small cheesecake business specializing in custom cakes and pre-orders. The shop will only be open one day a week for walk-in customers.
