With 16 different flavors, the cheesecakes will take center stage at The Batterina, which is set to open at 12325 River Road in Luling in August.
Ooey gooey cakes, cake jars, gourmet cakes and more will also fill the display cases.
Owner JoAnna Dorsey, 32, said she’s excited to bring The Batterina to St. Charles Parish, where she hopes the business will become a staple in the community.
“Just knowing that the community is excited for me to be there, that’s huge for me,” Dorsey said. “I already feel like I’m a part of a family, and I’m not even fully there yet.”
Earlier this year, while browsing commercial listings online, Dorsey spotted the former Gonzo’s Smokehouse building in Luling. Because the property had previously operated as a restaurant, much of the infrastructure she needed was already in place.
“I went to go see the space and I was thought, ‘This is perfect,’” Dorsey said.
The location is much larger than the small storefront she owned in Lakeview, which she outgrew after expanding to 11 retail partners and baking nearly 100 cheesecakes each week. Dorsey later relocated to a larger location in Kenner, only to find herself running out of room again as production increased and additional equipment became necessary.
The Luling location allows the business to grow and allows Dorsey, a New Orleans native, to remain close to her New Orleans and Baton Rouge customer base.
Dorsey first launched The Batterina while she was a student at Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge. The name is a combination of two of Dorsey’s passions: baking and dance.
Dorsey started dancing at 2 years old and began baking with her grandmother as a young child. In high school, she baked brownies and sold them to her classmates.
But years after graduating from culinary school, Dorsey suffered a serious fall that led to a life-threatening case of sepsis and emergency surgery. In the span of about three years, Dorsey underwent five surgeries.
The lengthy recovery forced Dorsey to slow down and rest. Stuck inside for four or five weeks at a time, Dorsey would pass the time by baking. On a whim, she took an online cheesecake class.
“My first cheesecake was horrible,” Dorsey said with a laugh. “It held its shape, but it was not done in the middle. It was a lot of trial and error.”
She kept working – and perfecting – the recipe. At the same time, she was healing and rebuilding. She worked with a personal trainer to regain her strength and a physical therapist to improve her mobility, determined to recover.
Her mother, who now works alongside her at the bakery, helped nurse her back to health after the surgeries.
“I couldn’t have done it without her,” Dorsey said.
Although the illness upended her life, Dorsey said it ultimately gave her the push she needed to pursue baking full time.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to take the leap of faith that I did without it,” she said. “So that kind of pushed me into entrepreneurship full time that I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.”
Dorsey and her husband, a U.S. Air Force veteran, will move to the parish by the end of the year.
“I am very excited to be in the parish,” Dorsey said. “Everybody that I’ve come across has been so nice and welcoming and just excited for me to be there.”