There’s nothing quite as delightful as homemade treats from grandma, and one Florida woman is proving just that. Recently, her TikTok fame skyrocketed thanks to a viral video showcasing her delicious baked goods.
Inez Hudson, 73, runs her small business three days a week (Wednesday through Friday), stationed outside Super Choice Foods supermarket in Lakeland, Florida. She sells a range of sweets, including pineapple pound cake with cream cheese icing, red velvet with cream cheese icing and pecans, and sweet potato pie, Fox 13 reported.
Hudson shared with the outlet that baking started as a hobby in her youth and grew into a passion she has cherished for years.
“I do it all myself,” Hudson said. “I got into baking when I was very young and it’s just something I like to do and I just started baking stuff, you know. As years went by, I kept baking and selling. I started doing this for the church.”
Hudson uses the market’s outdoor area to attract customers and sell cakes and pies. She has been doing so since November 2018 and usually gets up early to start baking treats.
Though business is occasionally slow, Hudson recalled Friday as one of the busiest days she has seen. She had an overflow of customers buying her homemade cakes and pies after one TikTok user shared a video of her booming business on the video-sharing platform.
Lakeland resident Mannie has amassed over 700,000 views on his video featuring Hudson’s homemade desserts.
@mannierants Store address: 610 W Memorial Blvd, Lakeland, #ourElders 💙 FL 33815 #Localsupport #fy #pielady #sweetelder #payitforward
Other Tiktokers praised him for helping out Hudson and spreading the word about her food on the app.
“That cry broke my heart. I can’t stand to see our elderly forced to worry how to make ends instead of enjoying their latter years😢🙏❤❤,” one user said.
“I love this! She deserves to retire and bake for her family when she WANTS to ❤💕,” another wrote.
“I know a good church cake when I see one..🖤🖤🖤 You blessed her and I cried for her. ty,” a third user said.
Mannie insisted that he bought her cakes and pies to support a Black-owned business, with no plans of going viral on TikTok.
“That’s the main reason why I made it. Not to go viral for social media purposes. I just wanted local people to support each other because that’s the best rewarding experience,” he shared with Fox 13.
Jimeld Zad, owner of Super Choice Foods, spoke highly of Hudson and said he’s never charged her for using the space.
“I give a chance to a lot of people. She deserves a chance and people deserve a chance in this world,” he told the outlet.
Hudson is retired and has turned to selling her cakes and pies to make extra money while on a fixed income. While her newfound fame was shocking, Hudson is happy to continue doing what she loves to do.
“It makes me feel happy because I’ve been doing this for so long and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.
