Wilco High School alumna opens new lemon-themed bakery in Gordon

Opening any new business is a leap of faith.

Opening a new bakery in a small and stagnant downtown at a time when egg prices are this high, meanwhile, would be considered more of a long jump.

Nevertheless, that’s exactly what Maya Whipple is doing. Whipple, Wilkinson County High School Class of 2018, is the proud owner of Gordon’s newest business – Zest Bake+Create, located at 119 Railroad St., often referred to around town as “the old Santech building.”

The bakery is slated to open May 17, although Whipple held a “soft opening” April 27. The menu will rotate, although Whipple at the soft opening debuted with cookies, cupcakes, macarons, cheese straws, petit fours, cinnamon rolls, lemon bliss bites, brownies and muffins. Beverages, both hot and cold, are another central part of the business plan. The soft opening included lattes, espressos, iced coffees, lemonade, flavored milk and milk alternatives.

Most young people from Wilkinson County who go off to college never come back. Whipple did, however, graduating with an art degree and deciding to do something for her hometown. Lemon decor is everywhere around the bakery, a tribute to Whipple’s grandfather, Lemon Harris.

“Art is my passion, and I wanted to find a way to connect art with a service to the community,” she said. “I’ve been baking cookies and cakes for the last five years and working out of my home, but I decided to expand, and hopefully people will like it.”

Zest also will host baking classes and other community get-togethers, Whipple added.

Downtown Gordon is in the beginning stages of a revitalization, albeit a humble one at this point. Derrick and Jenn Morris, a couple that first moved to Gordon in 2023, more recently purchased and rehabilitated three different downtown properties – the old Peoples Bank building at 121 Railroad Street, the old parts store at 206 Paper Mill Road, as well as “the old water tower” property at 149 Macon Road.

Whipple hopes to continue the momentum with her new bakery.

“It would be great to have this whole street full of active businesses,” she said. “I love my hometown, and I want to see it grow.”