Grace Bellinghausen
The Times
In a bright rainbow-painted storefront in the heart of La Vista, a sweet aroma wafts through the air carrying the scent of resilience, creativity, buttercream frosting, and a dash of pandemic-induced entrepreneurship.
Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetleju— one of the many custom cakes Happy Mango Bakery owner Megan Shonka has crafted and decorated in her four years as full time baker.
HAPPY MANGO BAKERY
Happy Mango Bakery, the brainchild of Papillion native Megan Shonka, opened its doors in July with grab-n-go sweet treats and made-to-order cakes along with weekly classes conducted by Shonka to share her love of baking with the community.
It all began when a plan was foiled by a global pandemic.
“I knew I wanted to start a business and we were trying to wait until the right time — but there never is one,” Shonka said. “When I had my third son in January 2020 I decided it’s now or never.”
Deciding the time was right, she rented out Airbnbs before COVID-19 caused an abrupt stop to business due to travel restrictions. Without feeling discouraged, Shonka brainstormed her next move and landed on one that fuels her love for art and creativity — baking.
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Megan Shonka leads a class of new bakers through instruction by projecting her process in real time to a TV so attendees can follow along.
HAPPY MANGO BAKERY
“I just started playing with things, different designs, decorations, playing with different flavors,” Shonka said. “I was on YouTube constantly, watching different bakers and learning new things.”
What began as a home-based venture quickly blossomed into a thriving business. As demand grew, so did the challenges of operating from a home kitchen.
“I can only fit so many people in my kitchen at home,” Shonka laughed. “Especially when there’s three or four of us there and we’re all trying to do different tasks. It was just horrible maneuvering.”
The move to the La Vista storefront was a natural progression for Shonka, enabling her to expand her offerings and achieve a better work-life balance. With a team of nine, Happy Mango Bakery now provides not only custom cakes and treats but also popular decorating classes for adults and children.
The classes were inspired by her previous experience teaching cake decorating at Mangelson’s before she committed to the bakery full-time.
Her classes range from basic cake decorating skills to more advanced techniques with classes divided by age: 6 to 8 years old, 9 to 12 years old, and adult classes.
“You get to see a variety of people gain a skill set that they didn’t have before,” Shonka said. “Everyone creates these amazing cakes, most people aren’t professionals but they’re so cool to see.”
Megan Shonka organizes her hundreds of cookie cutters into bins by theme, collecting the various shapes over the years from estate sales and thrift stores.
GRACE BELLINGHAUSEN, THE TIMES
Shonka’s vision doesn’t stop there. She’s cooking up plans for a new unique “baking library” where customers can borrow specialized baking tools and cookie cutters.
“Why isn’t that something that’s more regularly available?” Shonka said. “I would love to think that by our first anniversary, we would have the library up and ready to go.”
Community involvement is also at the heart of Happy Mango Bakery. Shonka has participated in volunteer cake programs for foster children and hospital patients, experiences that deeply touched her.
“I got to see the family’s reaction and it was so much gratitude,” Shonka said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, if I could just do this all day long.’”
Shonka’s journey began with a pandemic pivot and evolved into a thriving brick-and-mortar business, all due to her unwavering commitment to her vision.
The path hasn’t always been smooth — she recalls her early lessons learned about taking deposits and the occasional engineering challenge of sculpting cakes into unique shapes like a Connect 4 game cake that collapsed the day customers were scheduled to pick it up.
Yet, through it all, Shonka’s creativity and resilience have shone through. She even turned a potentially negative experience — when a customer ghosted her after ordering an elaborate custom torso in a bikini cake — into a fundraising opportunity for Ukrainian relief efforts.
As Shonka continues to whip up new ideas and spread joy through her confections, one thing is clear: this is just the beginning of a very sweet success story.
“We’re always looking to expand and grow,” Shonka said. “We’ve been thinking about coffee, expanding grab-and-go options and offering more classes.”
For Megan Shonka and Happy Mango Bakery, it seems the recipe for success is equal parts determination, innovation and a generous sprinkle of sugar.
Happy Mango Bakery is located at 9635 Giles Road in La Vista and is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information visit happymangobakery.com.
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Publish date : 2024-09-04 00:00:00
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