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By Riana Lurice Dazon – Feature –

Got a sweet tooth? Have any issues with allergies or with lactose? Want to take photos and eat artfully designed, melt-in-your mouth pastries?

With over 11.2k followers on their Instagram account, Goldenrod Pastries has captured most of Lincolnites’ hearts and stomachs. Their playful aesthetic with their designs on their gluten- and dairy-free pastries caught the eyes of most pastry lovers and regular consumers combined.

“My go to order at Goldenrod is usually two or three different macaroons (preferably rose or lavender) and then either a molasses cookie sandwich or a lemon cookie sandwich,” Senior Michaela Wubbels said. “With the macaroons, I really love the sweetness, paired with the crunchy outside, and the soft inside that really complement each other. With the cookie sandwiches, the cookies are always really soft, and I love how well the flavors work!

“I love the peanut butter sandwich cookie,” sophomore Madalyn Brandt said. “ It is sweet, but not too sweet; and I love peanut butter as well!”

Junior Sarah Smith is an avid fan of Goldenrod Pastries. “I go to Goldenrod once or twice a week because I have celiac disease and am lactose intolerant, so it’s one of the only places I can eat baked goods! Not only is the food superb,” Smith said, “but the staff is out of this world. I feel like I am apart of their family every time I step into their store. They truly care about the food they make and the people they serve.”

Angela Garbacz, the business owner and a Lincoln High Alumni, is preparing to celebrate their two-year anniversary through miniscule changes in their store furniture, as well as reflecting on their humble beginnings and their major successes in the company. On Saturday, May 13, 2017, Goldenrod will be hosting their two-year celebration at their location from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. They will provide free cotton candy all day, hosting two cake walks in addition to an extra special case full of goodies. As well, there will be a few local vendors joining the party – so expect a few door giveaways!

“I almost started crying…that we’re turning two, that’s crazy to me,” Garbacz said. “I’ve never been a manager until now and it was a really good opportunity to grow for me in that field. There is all the growth that you’ve seen in the outside, like what we put on social media. What people don’t see is making things run smooth behind the scenes, so I think it has been a really good year for that.”

Opened on the 16th of May 2015, Goldenrod Pastries is a boutique pastry shop that caters to all dietary restrictions. Located at 3947 South 48th Street, Goldenrod is flexible with pastry-related needs in your events: whether it is for a birthday, an anniversary, or a little cheeky pick-me-up for the day.

“Angela is passionate about her pastries and her creations never fail to impress,” Media Specialist Paula McClung said. “She will gladly talk to patrons about her work and those who go to experience one of those pastry delights, will find themselves a frequent customer. Not only are they delicious, some of her pastries meet allergy restrictions, so even I get to enjoy her desserts.”

Garbacz attended UNL with getting a Bachelor’s in Food and Sciences and attending the International Culinary Center in New York. Her passion in bakery has allowed her to pursue this aspiration of owning a business in the industry. During her time working in a firm through international marketing, she felt that she wasn’t creatively fulfilled. Garbacz then started blogging, creating different recipes that worked for her non-dairy diet. Publishing the blog in the spring of 2014, she has received interest through customer orders (both through her blog and her social media) that it occupied her entire summer. Seeing that this was something that she thoroughly enjoy doing, Garbacz had signed a lease to space by Prescott Avenue nine months later. “Usually, people would spend more time thinking about things, but I knew that there was this energy growing, and I had proven that people wanted the product that I had,” Garbacz said.

The Garbacz family has a strong ties to Lincoln High School as most of the family has attended the hundred-year-old establishment. A Lincoln High Alum of 2005, Garbacz was involved through the Arts and Humanities program, as well as the marching band program here at Lincoln High School.  “I remember Angela as a thoughtful, curious young person who was genuinely engaged in the process of making meaning of her world,” social studies teacher Shaunna Meyer said. “Interpersonally, Angela was authentic, warm, compassionate, and inclusive.”

“I think the most important thing that I took from Lincoln High is just general understanding and acceptance of so many different kinds of people. Just trying to learn more, understanding where people come from and what makes them special,” Garbacz said.

“I am also trying to make little aesthetic changes before our second anniversary,” Garbacz said. “I just want this to be the nicest place to my customers and I want constantly to put resources back into it to keep making it nicer. It’s nice to be two years in and to freshen it up a little bit.”

Plans for the future? Not anything specific, but Garbacz is excited to see what it has in store. “It’s really hard to plan businesses like this in advance,” she said. “We’re two years in, and we just want to see what happens next.”

“As long as you are ready to work really hard, you can do anything that you want to do,” Garbacz said. To be creative in utilizing the resources that you have now, and to work hard are the things that Garbacz believes young and aspiring creatives need to not only overcome those limitations, but to be successful in achieving their dreams and goals for the future.