LAURINBURG — When she was just 6 years old, Zariah Ocean remembers baking her first apple pie with her maternal grandmother, Lula Belle McLaurin.

Tragedy struck Ocean’s family when, in April of 2009, McLaurin passed away unexpectedly. But in 2011, Ocean began to spend time with her grandmother on her father’s side, Alease Ocean. The pair began to bake together just as she had with her late grandmother, and the moments the two shared baking inspired Zariah to take her interest in baking further.

“From that day on, I knew I was going to pursue this dream of baking in memory of Grandma Alease and Grandma Lula Belle,” the now 19-year-old explained. “I received an outpouring of support from family and friends and still to this day I do. Some of my college friends are so supportive of me taking on this big risk.”

Kake Me Away, the bakery created by Zariah, was founded in 2014. The young entrepreneur was eager to find a way to spread the word about her new business, so she made a Facebook page for Kake Me Away. Today, the Facebook page for Kake Me Away has more than 1,000followers and many loyal customers. Along with a website for her baked goods, Zariah says her dream is to eventually open her bakery close to home in Laurinburg.

Among the items offered are cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, muffins, cake pops, and even wedding cakes. Kake Me Away’s slogan, “every batch from scratch,” is a perfect description of these baked goods. All items are made from scratch and are baked by Zariah herself. The bakery offers several signature flavors of cakes, frosting and fillings to satisfy even the pickiest customer.

“After both of my grandmothers passed, it was just me. I began binge-watching a bunch of cooking shows on Food Network and looking up techniques on YouTube. I practiced and practiced until I was satisfied with the work I was putting out,” said Zariah. “Kake Me Away started small with just a couple of my mom’s teacher friends and my family. I can definitely say it has grown tremendously and I am so grateful for that. Word of mouth was the quickest way that I received an abundance of support.”

She added that she is currently working on a way to ship her baked goods internationally. Orders may be placed via the Kake Me Away Facebook page, their website, or by contacting Zariah at 910-280-6918.

“Kake Me Away was one of the scariest and best decisions I have made in my life. I encourage anyone who is thinking about taking on a new adventure to do so because you never know where you might end up,” Zariah said. “Always remember that when you are supporting a small business, you are supporting a dream.”

Kelsie Lopes is a summer intern for The Laurinburg Exchange.