NEWS

Triple Crown Bakery to open in September

Melanie Balakit
mbalakit@tennessean.com
Triple Crown Bakery, located on Columbia Avenue in Franklin, will open in September.

Pastry chef Alena Vaughn runs Triple Crown Bakery from her Franklin home.

But in September, she'll shift her home operation to her new bakery on Columbia Avenue.

Vaughn makes special occasion cakes, wedding cakes, decorated cookies, French-inspired pastries and breakfast goodies.

Her baked goods make frequent appearances at Franklin street festivals and farmer's markets throughout Williamson County. She also takes private orders, and caters to corporate customers, including Barefoot Wine and True Value Hardware, and military personnel.

Vaughn grew up with homemade sweets made by her Swedish grandmother and Jewish grandmother. She said she fondly remembers decorated Santa cookies, Swedish pancakes and bagels and cream cheese.

Despite a love for baking and cooking, Vaughn worked towards a business degree at San Diego State University before pursuing baking professionally.

"In my junior year, I was like, 'What am I doing? I'm not getting anything out of this," Vaughn said.

After a phone call home, Vaughn enrolled in a junior college and later transferred to the California Culinary Academy, now Le Cordon Bleu, in San Francisco. She started her pastry career with Ritz Carlton before launching her own business.

"Pastries make people happy," Vaughn said.

For now, Vaughn's house is home base for the one-woman operation. She said she's grown immune to the constant smell of baked pastries.

Her days start before sunrise at 5 a.m., where she decorates cakes and cookies and makes butter creams. Deliveries and pick-ups start around 10 a.m.

"It's definitely a labor of love," Vaughn said.

Vaughn said she's inspired by the late popular chef Julia Child.

"Really good ingredients will make really good products, and people will follow you if you do that, " Vaughn said.

"I love the fact that our town embraces small businesses and people who are trying to revolutionize food in this town. I think it's a really exciting time for this area - Nashville and Franklin," she said.

Reach Melanie Balakit at 615-926-1638 and on Twitter @MelanieBalakit.

Grand opening

Sat. Sept 10 from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

735 Columbia Ave. Franklin, TN (former Carnivore Market location)