Sweet freedom provided by Shelby Twp. bakery

Allergy Free Bakery Offers Tasty Treats for Those with Food Allergies
By Susan Smiley | Detroit News | May 24, 2024

Necessity, as the old saying goes, is the mother of invention. The Allergy Free Bakery in Shelby Township is the result of Chris and Jessica Farraj’s need to address the needs of their children.

“Two of our three children have severe food allergies, and it was so hard for them to understand why they couldn’t have birthday cake or treats that other kids were having,” said Jessica. “So many times, I would take my son away from the celebration and over to the play structure or do something else when they were singing happy birthday and cutting the cake.

“I don’t expect people to accommodate us because it is not their problem, but people don’t understand that even a little bit of something could kill someone who has a food allergy.”

Last September, the Farrajs opened the Allergy Free Bakery in Shelby Township. Everything is made on-site, fresh daily, and all products are free of the top nine food allergens: milk, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and sesame.

“When you come here, it is kind of nice because we are checking off all of the boxes,” Jessica said. “Food brings people together, and we felt this was a way to make sure people with food allergies were not excluded.”

The Allergy Free Bakery carries all of the same types of delectable treats you would find in a standard bakery. Luscious “buttercream” cupcakes in a wide variety of flavors, bagels, cookies, scones, pies, and frosted cinnamon buns that are big enough to share. They also sell coffee and coffee beverages that are allergen-free. Deer Camp Coffee Roasters in Sterling Heights provides the coffee, which is low in acidity and contains no allergens.

“My idea when we opened the bakery was to have all of the stuff our kids could never have,” Chris said. “I always say I want to offer as much as we can as far as a variety of products. The first month we were open, we had so many people asking for hot dog and hamburger buns that we added that.”

A large board in the back of the store keeps track of the many special orders that the bakery receives each week – everything from cupcakes to wedding and birthday cakes to special occasion cookies and rice crispy treats. For the Thanksgiving holiday, they filled more than 300 orders for allergy-free treats.

“It is not like a regular bakery,” said Jessica. “I had a mom who came in to pick up a cake for her daughter’s 18th birthday, and it was the first time her daughter was able to have a cake from a bakery and not something that the mom had to make. It is really special in that kind of way.”

The flavors of the different treats are constantly changing as the bakery crew tries new things and responds to suggestions and requests from customers. Bumpy cake cupcakes, cinnamon and white chocolate scones, blueberry bagels; you might find any of these at the Allergy Free Bakery.

“When you are in that allergy community or any community where you can only eat certain things, you are used to going to a restaurant and ordering the same thing all of the time because you know that is what is safe,” said Jessica. “Here, there is such a variety you could try something different every time you come in.”

A book listing the ingredients in each item is available for customers to check and make sure that what they are ordering does not contain anything to which they are allergic.

“A lot of people have allergies outside of the top nine, so people can check, but we can do special orders that don’t use cornstarch or legume protein, which are also very common food allergies,” said Jessica.

At a food allergy conference recently, Chris learned an average of two children per classroom have food allergies and that Michigan is a state with a high amount of food allergies.

“The food allergy community is huge,” Jessica said.

Despite the growing prevalence of food allergies, the Allergy Free Bakery is unusual. Chris and Jessica say they have customers who have come from as far away as Canada and that they have had inquiries about franchising from other states.

“To me, this is not a niche market; it has been undervalued and overlooked for a long time,” said Chris. “I think we are just exposing the need. I want to make it cool so that when kids come in, they feel comfortable and included.”

The Allergy Free Bakery is located at 50421 Hayes Road, south of 23 Mile Road.