‘Just wanted an outlet’ -- Fortune 500 employee turns stress relief into popular Lansing eatery

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - She used to work for a Fortune 500 company, but these days she’s her own boss, cooking up success in the kitchen.

Deanna Brown entered the food business by selling cheesecakes on Lansing’s Martin Luther King Boulevard and graduated to preparing a number of orders inside her very own shop. She opened Everything is Cheesecake, now a popular Lansing spot, almost four years ago in the City’s south side.

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Brown, a native of Michigan, put her skills to the test after leaving her full time job.

“It started in my home kitchen,” Brown said. “While I was working from home for a Fortune 500 company I was stressed out, tired, completely burnt out from my job and just wanted an outlet. So my creative outlet was baking.”

Brown began selling her homemade goods under a pink tent in Lansing. From there, she invested into a food truck which landed her into her very own shop.

The mother of three told News 10 she hopes to encourage others to go after their dreams.

“It’s important to have more Black-owned businesses,” Brown said. “The more Black-owned businesses we have the better our economy will be.”

Brown plans to expand the business outside of Lansing and, one day, sell cheesecake all over.

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