There’s no sweeter way to brighten someone’s day than with a cookie, and Danny Gordon has made serving up smiles his life’s work.
What started as a hobby and a way to lift spirits during some trying times turned into Gordon’s very own bakery and full-time business venture, Sugar Danny Cookies. Gordon began baking delicious treats in East Nashville as a casual side gig during the spring of 2020, and after listening to the growing interests of his customers, Gordon launched Sugar Danny as an official company in April of the following year. Now, customers can curb their sweet tooth cravings at the East Nashville Farmers’ Market (recently opened for year-round business) where Sugar Danny offers everything from can’t- go-wrong classic cookies to creative rotating seasonal flavors. Vegan and gluten free options also have a permanent seat at the table. Whatever your baked good of choice may be, Sugar Danny serves as a delicious way to indulge in all of life’s sweetest moments.
Labor of Love: I’ve always been interested in baking. My mom did a lot of baking in the house growing up and I’ve worked in kitchens and bakeries around town for the past couple of years. During the first year of the lockdown and a little bit before that I would bring baked goods into my really busy workplace to kind of lighten moods, because Friday nights can be really brutal in restaurants, and it just became a way for me to communicate caring to people because sometimes it was easier to express it through gifts. It was a nice way to let people know that I care and to be creative. I’ve always enjoyed it. I think it’s fun, interesting, and a good outlet for my creativity.
Growing Demands: [Sugar Danny] was very much a case of learning to believe other people when they told me things. I never really thought about starting my own business, but I was giving [cookies] away and people were saying, “Hey you’re really good at this. You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.” I kept letting it float over my head for a little while and then at a certain point I was just so burnt out working for other people. In April of 2021 I decided I’m going to listen to people: they think I can do this, people really like what I do, so I’m going to believe people. I’m going to trust other people’s judgment, and I’m going to believe in myself and see if I can do this. So far people seem to like what I make, which is great.
One Man Show: My team is me. It’s just me. I make everything, I do my recipe development, I work the markets, I unload my stuff, I reload my car, I do everything. It is very personal, which is great. I think people respond to that. It’s my name, my logo has my face on it, and it’s just me. It’s very transparent because there’s nothing to hide behind— it’s just me and the things that I make. It’s been a great experience. Working the markets with fun and interesting customers can be so much more fun than I expected. It’s really been the unexpected gift of this whole process, getting to know customers and other people who do things similar to me either baking, farming, or making their own products. At these markets you get to meet and know some of the same people over and over again, and building a network and community of people who are all kind of in the same boat together has been a really wonderful experience.
The Menu: I have a couple of core items. I make some of the classics, so I have a chocolate chunk cookie with flaky sea salt, which is really popular. I have a peanut butter candy cookie, which is a peanut butter cookie with Reese’s Pieces, Butterfingers, honey roasted peanuts, and peanut butter cups. I will always have gluten free and vegan options at my table because I really like to make sure that everybody can have something; those options include a really rich double chocolate cookie, which is basically a brownie in cookie form, and my gluten free brownie, which is so good that most people don’t care that it’s gluten free; it’s just a great fudgy brownie. I make a Dulce de leche blondie; it’s got this subtle sweet craveability to it. It’s my personal favorite thing that I make. I will also usually have one or two rotating seasonal items. I had a really popular blueberry muffin cookie that I ran over the summer; I ran a really good apple cider cookie over the fall; and I had a Christmas box that I did all exclusive flavors for.
Less is More: Generally, the feedback tends to be that nothing I do is complicated; it’s really straightforward, and it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles. It looks good because it is good, but it’s not decorated to cover up flaws. I try to use quality ingredients, I try to use straightforward flavors, and I think that people really respond to simple quality. It doesn’t have to be a headache to think about all the different flavors in my cookies. I try to keep it straightforward, simple, and I think people like that.
Future Hopes: My favorite thing has been the people. I love making the cookies, but I love more that people like them. It’s really satisfying being able to provide something that gives somebody joy and excitement. My big hope is that I will be able to continue what I’m doing and not lose focus. I hope that I keep growing but maintain the integrity of my quality. I’d love to be available to more people and I’d love to keep my price point affordable, because I feel strongly about that. All my cookies are $2, and I wouldn’t want to have to raise the prices too much because I think it’s really important for someone to be able to get something that makes them happy for not very much money. I just want to increase the spread and availability and maintain the quality. (@sugardannycookies on Instagram)