UWindsor student turns sprinkle of reality into recipe for success  

A big sacrifice is being made in Abbey Slack’s home.

“We're building a kitchen,” said Slack, owner of A Hole Lotta Donuts.

It's an investment that needs to happen in order for Slack to continue her budding baking business.

She started making creative peanut and nut free treats at the beginning of the pandemic.

“A few months into it my mom was sitting with me on the couch and said ‘Abbey you should just do it,’” Slack said.

 And the 21-year-old did.

As A Hole Lotta Donuts grew so did the visibility of the business. But during last year’s exam period, she says the health unit came to her with a complaint.

“And I couldn't run a business out of my home unless there was a separate kitchen,” she said.

However, she says the inspector told her the business could run the way it was if she kept her social media private.

“They told me if I went on private, if I took all my social media down and people had to request to follow me that would be okay to continue my business so that's what I ended up doing,” Slack said.

Then, two weeks ago, the health unit received another complaint. This time the message was stern.

“As long as I was selling it to the public and to strangers that's not allowed,” Slack said. “They told me I immediately needed to shut down my business and the only option was to either rent a kitchen or build a kitchen.”

While handing out refunds, Abbey felt she was letting her customers down. She struggled to stay positive after feeling she did everything right.

After a long conversation with family it was decided a storage room would be sacrificed to become a second kitchen.

“It does work and it will help her to continue to make nut free treats for families like us that kinda always struggled with that,” said Abbey’s mother Margaret.

Abbey is aiming to have her business up and running in six months.

It’s a business she started in part because she could no longer use her singing talent during the pandemic to help get her through school.

“I have no job for six months which is really stressful and kinda sucks but I'm hoping when things pick up and I open again it'll be worth it,” Slack said.

Her mom is proud.

“She's a fighter and she got knocked down for a few days but she realized she needed to get back up and get going again,” Margaret said.