A road trip from Belleville to visit this tasty new café and bakery is worth the drive
There are days I get to drive around different parts of our coverage area on the off chance that I’ll encounter something good to write about and share with readers.
Honestly, it’s really just nice to get out of the office (both the home office and the office office).
Recently I took a nice little road trip to Carlyle. It’s been a long time since I visited the county seat of Clinton County.
Honestly, I can’t remember if I’ve been there much since finishing high school when I had to go for my extracurriculars.
Back then, the trip from New Baden, or even Trenton, seemed like a long one.
It’s even longer coming from Belleville, but it was a nice drive. The hawk activity along Highway 50 alone was so worth it.
But I digress.
This journey to Carlyle was for a specific purpose.
I wanted to visit the Oh So Sweet Bakery & Café, which opened in mid-December.
Located at 625 12th St., Oh So Sweet is in a great location. It’s surrounded by many of Carlyle’s other businesses and is near the high school, Clinton County Courthouse, Governors Run Golf Course and Carlyle Lake.
Owner Cheri Mansfield’s goal was to open her dream café (check) in a prime spot (check) with a drive-thru (check) and parking (check).
A patio will open when the warmer weather arrives, with plenty of seating and a fire pit. That space will also be dog friendly.
As for the inside, it’s cozy and inviting. And it smells amazing!
Tables and chairs are available for customers, as well as sofa seating in a corner of the bakery.
Like I said – cozy and inviting. If I were off the clock and had a book or two on me, I would’ve set up camp for the day.
The space itself serves as a neutral canvas for seasonal decorations. It’s currently decked out for Valentine’s Day.
But the real centerpiece of the business is the case displaying all of the gorgeous baked goods. (I think I gained a few pounds just by looking at it.)
What’s on the menu
That day, the pastry case held a selection of muffins, cookies, brownies, bagels, made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls, mini loaves, cake pops and chocolate-covered pretzel sticks. Yum, yum and yum!
Specialty items offered are the previously mentioned cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, banana nut muffins and the brownies.
The bakery also makes artisan bread loaves and New York-style cheesecake. Mansfield was born and raised in New York, so yeah, of course cheesecake.
And donuts! House-made glazed, iced, and long john donuts are available on Saturdays and Sundays only.
Mansfield said when they opened, they went through 4,000 donuts in the first three and a half days.
Mansfield’s husband, Dwayne, is the donut maker. She said they can’t do donuts seven days a week because they wouldn’t have time to bake anything else (or, you know, sleep).
Cake donuts, however, are offered daily.
New items are added here and there, including the recently launched egg bites.
If you don’t have much of a sweet tooth and crave a bit of protein, this item is for you. It contains egg, bacon, cheese, spinach, cilantro and chives and is sold in packs of two.
Oh So Sweet also offers sugar-free dessert items on Thursdays.
They serve hand-dipped ice cream too.
The ice cream comes in eight flavors including butter pecan, cotton candy and the Superman, which they go through a lot of – three tubs in the first two weeks of opening, according to Mansfield.
As for drinks, Oh So Sweet serves Goshen Coffee. The café serves regular drip coffee and multiple coffee drinks (hot and iced), tea, hot chocolate and soda.
The dirty soda is popular, according to Mansfield, and is any soda flavor with coconut syrup, a dash of heavy cream and ice.
Most of the goods in the bakery are made in-house. Some items, like bagels, come from other businesses. (Hey, she can’t make everything.)
Mansfield said she looks at it as helping out other small businesses, particularly those that are local, women-owned and fair trade.
And it works both ways.
She said that another local coffee shop owner comes to the café for the cold brew and will send customers her way.
“I can’t succeed if I’m gonna tear someone else down,” said Mansfield.
Living the dream
Oh So Sweet Bakery & Café held a soft opening days before officially opening on Dec. 15.
Her first customer was the priest of her church, Father George Mauck of St. Mary’s Catholic Church (across the street from the bakery).
Mansfield said Father George blessed the business. (She wasn’t kidding. There’s a photo on the Facebook page.)
Then he bought donuts.
For the first few weeks after they opened, Mansfield said she spent the night on the couch in the café because she worried she wouldn’t be up and ready to go on time in the mornings.
“You gotta do what you gotta do,” she said.
Her efforts are paying off. Open just two months, Mansfield said she already has regular customers.
She spoke of one gentleman that comes in every week for loaves of no-salt artisan bread. He arrived soon after in the drive-thru for his two pre-ordered loaves.
Beth Koehler of Carlyle stopped in for a beverage and a treat.
“The best thing is the gooey butter cookies,” said Koehler.
Many first-time customers are still making their way to the business.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things” about the bakery and café, said Kathy Bruno of Keyesport, who stopped in for her first visit to the café after a yoga class in town.
She wanted to try the coffee and ordered a brownie to go with it.
“I need all the energy I can get,” said Bruno.
As for me, I had my usual Americano (black, no sugar). Usually an Americano is pretty bitter (espresso’s like that). But this one wasn’t bitter at all. It was so good!
Mansfield said that people come to the bakery from all over. She’s had customers come from Trenton, Breese and some from out of state.
She also said she has the best employees.
“Without them I wouldn’t be here either,” said Mansfield.
She currently has 19 employees of varying ages and backgrounds, from students to retirees.
Mansfield’s three daughters, who all have day jobs, also pitch in at the business.
Her youngest, Samantha, works as the head barista. Middle daughter Miranda handles the behind-the-scenes action, including social media. Oldest daughter Amanda orders and organizes the inventory and can be found there on weekends helping out.
“This was my dream café,” said Mansfield, who planned the details of the business with her daughters.
“I am living the dream,” she said.
Oh so sweet beginnings
Oh So Sweet Creations began in 2014 when preparations were being made to celebrate daughter Miranda’s Sweet 16 that March.
Mansfield said Miranda requested sweets be served for the occasion, so she created a candy buffet display.
It turns out Mansfield really enjoyed coming up with ideas, designing displays and making the treats.
A new business was born.
Oh So Sweet Creations was officially established in August 2014 and started off slow, said Mansfield.
There was very little advertising at first. As more ideas were implemented, she started running ads.
By 2016-17, Mansfield started taking things more seriously. News of the business spread by word of mouth, and she started getting repeat customers.
She said during the pandemic they ran more ads. She continued getting requests for dessert tables at events, especially weddings.
There were one or two weddings a week, said Mansfield.
By 2021, she needed more space to make the magic happen for these events. At the time, Mansfield was sharing a kitchen with another baker in nearby Boulder, located east of Carlyle Lake.
She recalled her time working with the Army Corps of Engineers at Carlyle Lake. People often asked where they could get some coffee in the area.
With her own love of coffee and pastries, Mansfield realized that Carlyle needed a place that could provide these things.
Eventually Mansfield decided to go all in and open her dream café.
She acknowledged that she’s the first to have an establishment like this in Carlyle. People are excited, and she is excited for that.
“Carlyle needed something like this. Something different,” said Mansfield.
Full steam ahead
Some days Mansfield thinks, “What did I do?”
Even with the bakery and café up and running, Oh So Sweet continues to handle weddings and other events.
Mansfield said they still provide different dessert bars. They have wedding bookings in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Mansfield said she wants people to come to Oh So Sweet, sit, relax and enjoy the goodies.
Customers of the bakery and café will be given the best customer service possible.
Mansfield said customers often say her employees are amazing, polite and awesome.
Customer service is huge for Mansfield, especially with weddings.
Clients are given what’s promised, and Mansfield is teaching employees how to do everything for the events, including set-up and food prep.
At the bakery and café the same level of service is expected.
“We’re [still] just taking it all in,” said Mansfield.
She said she’s always thinking, “How can I make it better? Make it my own?”
She has plans to add candy and popcorn in the warmer months and to expand the menu to include salads, sandwiches and soups.
“This is my passion. It’s been my passion for many, many years. It’s a dream come true.”
About Oh So Sweet Bakery & Café
Oh So Sweet Bakery & Café is located at 625 12th St. in Carlyle.
Hours are currently 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
A grand opening event is planned for mid- to late April.
For more information, call 618-594-6048 or visit facebook.com/ohsosweetcreations.
So the next time you’re in the Carlyle area – whether it’s camping, golfing, court or, you know, a Tuesday – make sure you swing by Oh So Sweet Bakery & Café to grab a coffee and something sweet.
And enjoy every delicious moment.
This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 11:30 AM.
