FEEL GOOD FRIDAY: Family legacy continues at bakery in Glasgow

GLASGOW, Ky. (WNKY) — After 25 years in business, Sweetheart Bakery owner Linda Young is looking back on decades of hard work, loyal customers and family memories while also looking ahead to the bakery’s next chapter with her grandson, Carter Young, working alongside her.

Linda said the community’s support helped sustain the bakery from its earliest days, when opening the business brought what she described as “total chaos” mixed with excitement.

A family business comes full circle

Carter’s connection to the bakery began long before he was thinking about carrying on the family business. He remembers being about 5 or 6 years old and sitting at a bread slicer, cutting homemade bread.

“Oh, no. I just felt like we were coming to hang out with Noni at the bakery,” Carter said. “Yeah, we loved it. We got cookies, and we loved it.”

Now, he is helping Linda with the day-to-day work and bringing ideas of his own.

“Just to have him here just warms my heart,” Linda said. “And, I just can’t thank him enough. He has took so much pressure off of me, and it’s amazing.”

Carter said working beside his grandmother has also shown him how much goes into running the bakery.

“I’ve learned that she makes it look easier than it is,” he said. “You know, she makes it look easy, but there’s a lot to keep up with.”

Keeping traditions alive

Some bakery staples are not up for debate. Carter said the cookies need to be made the way they were 25 years ago, along with Linda’s chicken salad, tuna spreads and meringue pies.

His desire to continue the bakery has taken on added meaning after the death of his grandfather, Linda’s husband.

“To keep this going for him and for her would mean the world to me,” Carter said.

Linda said the past few months have been difficult, but Carter’s presence and the community’s support have helped.

“We have just learned to love the community that has supported us so much,” she said. “And especially since my husband passed away. And, you know, it’s been really tough, but this little guy has made it a lot easier for me.”

Over the years, Linda has watched children who once came into the bakery grow up and return with children of their own.

Looking another 25 years ahead, she hopes Sweetheart Bakery will double in size — with Carter playing a major role in its future.