March is just around the corner which means now is the perfect time to start planning out which business to shop at and support during Women’s History Month.
With this in mind, here are few women-owned businesses located in Kent, Ohio to consider visiting.
Scribbles Coffee Company is a coffee shop located on Water Street in downtown Kent. Not only do they serve tea, coffees and other sweet treats but they also sell different types of coffee blends such as blueberry, peanut butter and red velvet cake. Scribbles is owned by Beth Budzar, who opened the business back in 2007. A fun fact about Scribbles according to its website is, “We are Kent, Ohio’s longest standing woman owned/family operated coffee company and roastery.” They also get some of their coffee from a 100% female employed coffee farm in Uganda.
After making a career change from being a high school math teacher to making cake pops, Amy Mucha opened the Daisy Pops storefront in downtown Kent in April 2023. Daisy Pops is a cake pop bakery which offers a wide assortment of cake pops, including ones which are gluten-free and vegan. Their cake pops can either be bought in-person at their downtown Kent storefront or online through their website.
Another situation of a career shift from being a teacher to a baker led Michela Rocco to opening Rocco’s Cupcake Café on February 4th, 2023. In addition to offering made-from-scratch, freshly baked cupcakes every morning, they also offer cake pops and Dirty Girl Coffee, a female-owned craft coffee roaster in Columbus, Ohio. A few of their staple cupcake flavors, which can always be found in their store, include birthday cake, chocolate peanut butter and red velvet.
According to their website, “Sun in Leo is a circular marketplace with up-cycled and responsibly sourced goods.” Sun in Leo was founded by Justine Gallo and the physical storefront was opened in February of 2023 in Acorn Alley. The store carries an assortment of upcycled custom clothing and jewelry as well as other accessories, too. For those who are interested in shopping more sustainably, Sun in Leo is a great place to start as customers can donate unwanted jewelry and textile which Gallo can then determine whether it can be up-cycled.
Off the Wagon is a toy store owned by Michelle Sahr and is not only located in Kent’s Acorn Alley, but it can also be found in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The Kent location initially opened in 2009 and Off the Wagon has been supplying the Kent community with an assortment of toys, stuffed animals and other gifts ever since. Next door to Off the Wagon is its sister store, Red Letter Days, which is said to appeal to readers, writers and artists due to its selection of art supplies, journals and books.
In addition to shopping or supporting any of these women-owned businesses, definitely consider shopping and supporting women-owned businesses near you.
Also, the month of March does not have to be the only time you support and shop at female-owned businesses as you can do so all year long, so happy shopping!