The Night Class Behind Harnett County's Newest Bakeries

Two bakeries opened storefronts in Harnett County this year. In July it was Marchand's, a fully gluten-free bakery on East Depot Street in downtown Angier. In October it was Richard's Sweet Tooth & Special Occasions, on West Cumberland Street in Dunn. They sit about twenty minutes apart, sell very different things and have separate owners. They also share a classroom. Both owners went through the same Fall 2025 group of the Harnett Lift-Off Lab, a free evening program that pays its top business plans in rent money, but only once there's a storefront to pay rent on.

That condition explains why the new shops are permanent storefronts and not pop-ups. The program offers a grant, and it only pays out after the doors open.

The Grant Pays After the Door Opens

The Lift-Off Lab is run by the Central Carolina Community College Small Business Center with Harnett County and the Angier, Lillington, Dunn, Erwin and Coats chambers of commerce. Harnett County dates its start to 2023. The format is small on purpose. There are nine evening classes, 6 to 9 p.m., held in Harnett County. A group is capped at twelve people, who must apply and be approved, and the classes cost nothing. The final session is a business plan pitch to a panel of business professionals. The CCCC Small Business Center compared it to "TV's Shark Tank."

According to the program's own page, a winner gets the money in this order:

1. The participant attends every class, since full attendance is required for grant eligibility.
2. The participant has not yet opened a storefront.
3. The business sets up in a location that is approved and commercially zoned.
4. The grant then reimburses up to $5,000 of rent, utilities or building improvements, as funds allow. It comes with a year of Base Level chamber membership plus marketing and business support.

The current rules also ask a winning business to open within 12 months of finishing the program. Because the grant reimburses money already spent on rent, utilities or improvements, it rewards a business that has opened a brick-and-mortar location. The program approves each site, and the site has to be commercially zoned.

Angier: A Gluten-Free Kitchen on Depot Street

Kristen and Sean Marchand opened Marchand's at 32 E. Depot St. on July 1. The whole kitchen is gluten-free. The case holds sourdough along with other baked goods, and some items are dairy-free or nut-free. The couple have spent their careers in the food industry.

The dedicated kitchen is what customers notice. Kristen Marchand told the CCCC Small Business Center, "People come in here and feel safe and they can get something delicious." She said in the same piece that she was seeing maybe four times as many celiac customers as she had expected, and that the bakery was drawing attention from across the wider Triangle. She credited the class sessions on financial projections as especially useful.

The grant came after the bakery opened, as the rules require. In late August the Angier Chamber of Commerce posted about a check presentation where the Angier, Coats and Dunn chambers joined the Small Business Center and Stephen Barrington, director of Harnett County Economic Development, to hand the Marchands their $5,000. Marchand's was already open on Depot Street when the check arrived.

Dunn: Six Years in a Trailer, Then Cumberland Street

Richard's Sweet Tooth followed a longer route to the same kind of finish. Shoshona Heck has been baking in the area since 2012. In 2020 her husband, Sherod Heck, bought a food trailer, and the couple ran the business from it until 2026. BizFayetteville reported that the business grew from a kitchen-table operation. The bakery is named for her grandfather, Richard McNeill Jr.

At the Fall 2025 graduation, held at the CCCC Harnett Health Science Center, Heck was the participant picked for a grant that night. When the CCCC Small Business Center announced it, the truck was already serving customers and Heck was looking for a storefront location. She found one at 1203 W. Cumberland St., and the Dunn Area Chamber of Commerce joined the family for the ribbon cutting on Friday, Oct. 2. The $5,000 check came later in October. Terri Brown of the Small Business Center, Kristina Harrell of the Dunn Area Chamber and Stephen Barrington presented it. Quoting a press release, BizFayetteville reported Heck's summary of the class: "I learned strategy; I learned organization."

The menu is built on cheesecake, all made on site. Cookies, dessert cups and fresh lemonade fill out the case, and the October opening featured a cookie butter cheesecake. Heck told BizFayetteville her favorite is the blueberry. She relies on a group of loyal taste testers to decide what to sell next. The Hecks also said they plan to keep showing up at events.

The Earlier Classes Show the Same Pattern

The two bakeries aren't the first winners to open a fixed location in or near Harnett's towns.

The Wine Thief started out in Lillington as the program's first grant winner. It now operates in downtown Dunn on Broad Street, where its own site describes it as a place to shop, sip and catch music and events. Liberty PlayTown, owned by Carolyn Wilson and Krista Petty, announced its grand opening for Oct. 12, 2024, a few months before Harnett County named it that year's winner.

Where to Find Them Before the Holidays

Both bakeries are on regular schedules heading into the season, and Dunn's biggest December night happens on The Wine Thief's street.

• Marchand's, Angier. The bakery's order page lists hours of Tuesday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. A "Holiday Pre-orders" section offers chocolate cream, pumpkin, lemon meringue and apple pies, plus stuffing.
• Richard's Sweet Tooth, Dunn. As of the October opening, BizFayetteville listed storefront hours of Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with pickup only Monday through Thursday.
• The Wine Thief, Dunn. The bar hosts Free Tasting Fridays every Friday evening.
• Dunn's Christmas Extravaganza, Saturday, Dec. 5. The Dunn Area Chamber parade and the City of Dunn tree lighting share one night on Broad Street, from Tyler Park to City Hall. Stage performances by local schools start at 5 p.m. The parade steps off at 5:30, and the tree is lit around 7:30. Horse-drawn carriage and wagon rides run from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The event listing has the full schedule.
• Lillington, Dec. 10 and Dec. 12. The Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa's Workshop runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Lillington River Park, 151 E. Duncan St. The town's Christmas Parade follows on Dec. 12 at 10 a.m., and parade entries are due Nov. 25.

Last Thursday's Pitches

The Fall 2026 group started Sept. 17 and moved through financing, marketing, legal considerations, taxes and bookkeeping. Its final business plan presentations were on Nov. 12, a week before this post went up. If a winner from that panel follows the program's rules, the next grant-backed storefront has twelve months to open in a commercially zoned space that the program approves somewhere in Harnett County.

Anyone considering the program should read the eligibility and reimbursement terms on the Small Business Center's page and confirm that a specific site qualifies with the program and the county before committing to it. This post is general information and not legal, tax or financial advice, so check your own situation with the program staff and the right professionals.

The Hecks spent six years in a trailer before they found a spot on Cumberland Street, and choosing the right ground matters just as much on a farm, a timber tract or a few acres outside town. If you're weighing a piece of land in Harnett County, Legacy Farms & Ranches of North Carolina can walk it with you. Talk to a Land Specialist.