From Childhood Dream to Main Street Bakery: Booey’s Bakery – Moments With Our Members

At MVEA, our commitment to the cooperative principle, Concern for Community, goes beyond providing reliable electricity. We are proud to serve the people, businesses, and organizations that make our communities strong. Through our Moments with Our Members series, we highlight the stories of the members we serve and celebrate the passion, hard work, and dedication that help our local communities thrive.

This month, we sat down with Riley, owner of Booey’s Bakery in Calhan, to learn about her journey from aspiring baker to small business owner and how a lifelong dream became a beloved gathering place for the community.

For as long as she can remember, Riley has known exactly what she wanted to do.

Her love for baking started as a little girl in the kitchen, where some of her earliest memories involved making chocolate chip cookies and sneaking bites of raw cookie dough alongside her mom. What began as a childhood passion eventually grew into a lifelong dream, one she was determined to pursue from an early age.

So determined, in fact, that she completed high school and college at the same time so she could earn her culinary arts degree and begin her career as quickly as possible. Over the last 10 years, she has worked in both high-production kitchens and small bakeries, learning the craft while dreaming of one day opening a place of her own.

That opportunity came unexpectedly during the COVID-19 pandemic. While working in a school kitchen, Riley was furloughed along with many others. Instead of seeing it as a setback, she saw it as an opportunity to finally chase her dream.

She started with an in-home bakery before taking the next big step. In December 2024, she purchased the building that now houses Booey’s Bakery in Calhan. The building, which had previously operated as a bar, required extensive renovations. For eight months, she worked tirelessly, gutting and transforming the space into the warm, welcoming bakery customers know today.

The bakery’s name itself is deeply personal. Riley has been called “Booey” since she was a baby, and the nickname has stuck with her ever since. When it came time to name her bakery, choosing Booey’s Bakery felt like the perfect fit for a business built around who she is and what she loves.

Today, the bakery has become a gathering place for the community. It is a location where customers can stop in for coffee, breakfast pastries, custom cakes, and sweet treats. When asked what she loves most about owning a small-town bakery, her answer came easily: the people.

“The community has been so kind and positive,” she shared. “Everyone has been so excited to have a place like this in a small town.”

That support has meant everything to her. While she appreciates the travelers and visitors who stop in, she especially values the regular customers who return week after week, eager to see what new flavors and offerings have appeared in the bakery case.

Many of the recipes served at Booey’s Bakery are recipes passed down through generations or creations she has developed herself over the years. Her favorite item to make is macarons, a pastry known for being notoriously difficult to perfect. For Riley, that challenge is exactly what makes them so rewarding.

That dedication to quality is reflected in everything that comes out of her kitchen.

“This is my passion, my livelihood, this is everything I’ve ever wanted,” she said. “Because of that, everything that we put out is something that I care about and am passionate about.”

Rather than focusing on quantity, Riley focuses on creating products she can be proud of.

“I would rather have slightly fewer products in the bakery case if it means the quality is good,” she explained. “Quality over quantity is important to me.”

Swing open the doors of Booey’s Bakery, and you’re immediately greeted by one of the shop’s most memorable features: a colorful sprinkle wall showcasing more than 400 different varieties of sprinkles. It serves as a cheerful welcome and a reflection of the creativity found throughout the bakery. From beautifully decorated custom cakes to carefully crafted pastries, Riley’s attention to detail and passion for her craft can be seen in every corner of the business.

For Riley, some of the most rewarding moments come when customers stop by to discuss a custom cake order or share the story behind a celebration.

“The best part of my day is when I’m making a custom cake, and I have people come in who want to talk about it,” she said. “It’s so much fun to hear food bring people together, and that’s part of why I love it so much.”

Like many small businesses, reliable electricity plays an important role in making those moments possible. Booey’s Bakery relies on a commercial oven that powers much of the baking operation, along with six refrigerators that keep ingredients and products fresh. During renovations, Riley also made the decision to switch the building’s heating system from gas to electric, a change she says has improved energy efficiency and reduced operating costs.

When asked what it means to be served by an electric cooperative, she highlighted the value of local service and local relationships.

“The ease of being able to call and know that I’m reaching someone local is huge,” she said. “If I need anything, I can stop by the office and talk to someone.”

She also appreciated the support she received during the renovation process, noting that MVEA crews worked quickly to get the infrastructure in place so her business could open its doors.

At its heart, Riley believes small businesses are about more than products or profits.

“I think with business, a lot of people think about it as the American Dream and the backbone of the economy,” she said. “But beyond that, it’s people who are really passionate about something they care a lot about. When you support small businesses, you find people who genuinely want to serve you.”

That passion is evident throughout Booey’s Bakery. From the recipes and custom cakes to the new flavors and colorful sprinkle wall, every detail reflects a dream that has been years in the making.

And as customers gather over coffee, celebrate milestones with custom cakes, and return each week to discover something new, Riley continues doing what she has loved since she was a little girl, bringing people together through food, one sweet treat at a time.

At MVEA, we are proud to power local businesses like Booey’s Bakery and to support the entrepreneurs who invest their time, talent, and passion into the communities we call home. Their success helps strengthen our local economy, create gathering places for neighbors, and make eastern Colorado a special place to live and work.

Have a story to share?

Through our Moments With Our Members series, we highlight the people, businesses, organizations, and community members who make our service territory a special place to live and work. Whether it’s a unique profession, a family tradition, a community impact story, a local business, or another meaningful connection to MVEA, we’d love to hear about it. If you or someone you know has a story worth sharing, email our Communications team at communications@mvea.coop for consideration in a future feature.