Many of us make a plan for how we hope our lives and careers pan out when we’re young. What’s much rarer is that we actually bring that plan to fruition. Sara Parrish, owner of a bakery in downtown Gettysburg called Sweeter Than SAP, did everything she could to stay on the path of a baker—and by just 23 years of age, she had a storefront all her own.
“I always had a vision of what I have now,” Parrish says. That’s not to say the journey was easy, particularly with someone her age having to prove how passionate and dedicated she was about opening a bakery. “I had to self-advocate,” she says. “It’s what I’ve always wanted, and I fought hard for it.”
Parrish attended Adams County Technical Institute, formerly Adams County Tech Prep, to study culinary arts during high school and went on to achieve a bachelor’s degree in pastry and food service management from Johnson & Wales University. All of this was part of an intentionally crafted plan. Even her business name (the SAP in Sweeter Than SAP is her initials) was born out of a family conversation when she was 16 years old.
All of that is just a sliver of what went on behind the scenes to create Sweeter Than SAP. Walking into the bakery, which opened in August after years of Parrish fulfilling custom orders in her private kitchen, provides an encompassing experience. With beverages like coffee and hot chocolate available on-site, Gettysburg locals, college students and visitors can stop in for a quick treat or hang out and feel right at home. The design is clean, welcoming and modern, and the fan-favorite cinnamon rolls—the size of a small dinner plate—immediately give credence to the skill that Parrish has honed over her life.
So too do the wide variety of cupcakes and pastries that are at the ready in the bakery, as well as the custom orders for monumental life events like weddings and birthdays that Parrish gets to craft, bringing joy to people’s lives through beauty and flavor.
For Parrish, what’s most special is that everything is made from scratch. “The industry has kind of lost its way,” she says. “Everything is being mass produced, and I think that’s really what sets a local business aside. Here, everything is made from scratch, and everything is made on-site.”
Parrish is a big fan of wedding orders, whether they be a traditional tiered wedding cake or some version of current trends like a small cake plus an array of cupcakes or parfaits for guests to choose from. Couples can arrange a tasting of six different flavors and have a relaxed conversation about all the details of their wedding and what they hope for the desserts. “We really just want to create a smooth back-and-forth process for the couples who come in,” Parrish says.
Whether it’s weddings, baby showers or a day of shopping in Gettysburg topped off with an afternoon delicacy, Parrish spends her days living and breathing sweets. Ironically, she doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth herself. “I’d rather eat steak and potatoes,” she says. So what makes baking her lifelong passion if not for the opportunity to lick the spoon?
“I honestly love making other people happy with food and something that they can use to nourish themselves or even just to enjoy,” she says. Plus, desserts are often associated with a moment of celebration. “It’s fun, it’s creative, and I love science too, and baking is so much science,” she adds. The list, it seems, could go on forever.
Sweeter Than SAP is just getting started. The bakery recently partnered with Gettysburg Eddie’s to sell their cheesecakes and chocolate mousse cake as dessert at the restaurant. They’re also continuing their partnership with Mr. G’s Ice Cream, who uses some of their desserts as mix-ins or sides for his own product.
As for the future of the bakery itself, Parrish finds herself moving the goalposts of what she wants to achieve further down the line. “Maybe opening up a second location is somewhere in the future for me,” she says, knowing full well she has a way of making her dreams a reality.
Sweeter Than SAP | 52 York St, Gettysburg, PA | 717-420-2337 | sweeterthansap.com | @sweeterthansap
