10/07/2026
Well…my heart is heavy.
The Crave Cave is officially closed, and with that comes the end of a chapter that’s meant more to me than I can possibly say.
When I came to The Crave Cave, I had lost my corporate job and had tried a commissions-only insurance job that, quite honestly, was a complete disaster 😂. To say my confidence had taken a hit would be an understatement. I needed something different. I needed something that reminded me who I was. I found that at The Crave Cave.
Not only did I get to manage a restaurant I genuinely loved, but I got something I had dreamed of: a place where I could share my baking with people. Mama Joyce’s Bakery finally had a little home of its own. 🧁💜
For that, I’ll always be grateful to my sweet boss/friend. Cara, thank you for taking a chance on me, believing in me, and building my bakery suite in the back. That little space meant SO much to me. It wasn't just a room in the back of a restaurant. It represented a dream I had almost given up on. Thank you for turning something I love into something real and giving me the chance to live a dream. Thank you for helping me find myself again.
Cara, thank you will never feel like enough.
And then there are all of you. ❤️
My customers.
The people I looked forward to seeing, who’d stop in and tell me about your day. The regulars whose orders I knew by heart. I got attached to your faces, names, stories, jokes, your families, and the conversations we had when you came through the drive-thru.
Thank you for every meal, every dessert, every conversation, every compliment, every laugh, every “I'll be back tomorrow,” and every bit of support you gave us. You probably don't realize how much those little moments meant.
You supported The Crave Cave, but you also supported me. You bought my baked goods, and told your friends about Mama Joyce’s. You trusted me with birthday cakes, desserts, holiday treats, and all the little things that gave me the chance to keep creating. You helped rebuild a confidence in me that I had lost. You let me feed you—which, if you know me, is basically the highest form of love I know how to give. 😂❤️
As The Crave Cave closed, Mama Joyce’s Bakery lost its little home, too. 💔
I don't have all the answers about what comes next, but I do know that this isn't the end of Mama Joyce’s Bakery.
I will continue taking custom orders whenever I can, and I'll keep my page updated as I figure out what the next chapter looks like. Please stay tuned. I may not have my little bakery suite anymore, but I’ll always keep my love for baking and creating, and I hope to keep doing that for all of you.
From the bottom of my heart:
Thank you, Cara.
Thank you, The Crave Cave.
Thank you to my coworkers who shared this chapter with me.
And thank you to every customer who ever pulled through that drive-thru, placed an order, stopped to talk, or simply made my day a little brighter.
You were a much bigger part of my life than you probably realized.
I'm going to miss this place, the people, and my little bakery home.
But most of all, I'm going to be forever grateful that I got to have it at all.
This isn't goodbye to Mama Joyce’s. It's just goodbye to the place where she got her start.
Until the next chapter…
With all my love (and probably way too many baked goods),
Mama Joyce 💜💜
