WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

Faith McKnight wasn’t born with a silver spoon, but she sure knows how to use one. 

Faith’s grandmother started a bakery with a small investment, and it expanded into a little café featuring baked goods and home cooked meals for the local community, businesses and churches in Birmingham, Alabama. Faith has created the nostalgia of the neighborhood bakeshops from our childhood. The Sweet Truth Bakery is becoming the talk of Forsyth County. 

Let’s get to know the CEO and owner of The Sweet Truth Bakery. 

When did you open The Sweet Truth Bakery and why did you choose the bakery business? 

I opened The Sweet Truth Bakery in 2017 after placing 2nd in the very first Launch Challenge at Forsyth Tech. I won $15,000 and bought the equipment to launch my certified home bakery under the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture. It was my five-year plan to open a bakery cafe. I opened the first retail location in 2019 and opened The Bakery Cafe in July 2023. I had a lot of support from my family and friends, the good folks of Winston Salem, Walkertown, Kernersville and surrounding areas, Carol Davis, the shared use kitchen at The Enterprise Center, Allan Younger, Nell Perry at SBC at Forsyth Tech, Telissa Ward, Short Street Kitchen, and Greater Winston Salem Black Chamber.

What makes The Sweet Truth different from other bakeries? 

I bake a lot of my cakes from scratch and I use fresh ingredients: eggs, butter, buttermilk, etc. I am an old school baker. I was a night baker in the U.S Army, and a custom baker for customers who may have a recipe or request I make something not on the menu. In July we also incorporated home-cooked meals and a Ghost Kitchen & Short Street Kitchen in Kernersville. 

Does your family have a history of baking and cooking? 

My great-grandmother owned a bakery and restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, which she ran out of her house. My father taught me how to make biscuits and scratch pie dough. My family has a host of cooks and bakers. 

Tell us about some of the delicious baked goods that The Sweet Truth offers. 

We have many items on a weekly basis. We have breakfast, pies, pound cakes, Danishes, banana pudding, lemon, blueberry and apple turnovers, hummingbird, pecan, potato, and more. It’s a good idea to follow us on Facebook and Instagram because we change items weekly.

Tell us about the other delicious food at The Sweet Truth. 

We also serve beef patties, jerk chicken patties and Loco bread, ice cream, and Philly Water Ice. We will be serving wings on Wednesdays, and home cooked meals on Sunday. We’ll have Angus beef short ribs, baked chicken breast or leg quarters, collards, potato salad, cabbage, yellow rice, and cornbread or roll.  

What are some of your top sellers? 

Banana pudding poke cake, Cheerwine poke cake, pineapple coconut, Philly cheese steak and loaded fries, hummingbird cake, lemon cake, and sweet potato cake with lemon curd. 

Do you have any specials this week? 

Sweet potato Honey Bun cake, hummingbird cake, carrot cupcakes, steak chicken cheese stick with loaded fries. $2 cupcakes on Thursday, ricotta Oreo cookie brownie cupcakes, $2 German chocolate cupcakes, cupcake cheesecake and Orange Dreamsicle cake. 

What are your strongest bakery skills? 

Making scratch pie dough. Making a recipe and turning it into my own, with giving a twist from the basics. My Cheerwine cake is my own version. I use dark cherries instead of Marchin. 

What has been your challenging recipe to bake? 

Cinnamon rolls and puff pastry. Also, Italian Cream Cake, because if you miss one step, the cake will fall. It’s one of my specialty cakes for the holidays. 

What is the most challenging part of being a business owner in the bakery industry? 

Competition and finding your niche, and I have many. COVID has kept me on my toes. I had to pivot many times; however, I have survived and I plan on growing my business with the launch of our Ghost Kitchen JB Cookin’ with The Sweet Truth.

Is there a scripture or quote that gives you strength to overcome challenges? 

Stay ready so you don’t have to get Ready! 

INDULGE your sweet tooth at the Sweet Truth Bakery and Catering, The Chronicle’s Business of the Month. For more information, call 336-934-5847, email them at sweettruth2@gmail.com, visit them at 4015 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, or go to their website at linktr.ee/sweettruth2. You can also follow them on social media @The Sweet Truth.