Bringing a “taste of home” since 1939
When Brookhaven High School presented its big 2024 homecoming production entitled “Home Sweet Homecoming,” Janie’s Pastry Shop, a longtime hometown favorite, had a leading role.
The production commemorated “the beauty of coming back home to sweet places in Brookhaven,” so including Janie’s was an obvious choice. “It’s been a staple in Brookhaven for years,” said Assistant Principal Mandy Vinson, who directed the show. “When everybody comes back home, it’s their first stop.”
Folks in and around Brookhaven have looked to Janie’s Pastry Shop for their sweet treats since it opened in 1939. The shop’s original owner was Janie Trevor, who current owner Janie Moak Stogner was named after.
The younger Janie started working at the shop at age 14 when it was owned by her parents. She and husband Keith Stogner took ownership in 1988 from her parents and began putting their own touches on the baked goods and the lunch and dinner plates.
If you can catch up with Janie to talk for a few minutes, she will tell you that the shop keeps her and the staff busy from early morning until closing. “We go wide open from midnight to five in the afternoon,” she said. “We do 35 pastries every morning.”
Janie’s bakes 20 different birthday cake versions and keeps the display cases filled with cookies and other sweets. Besides the signature ice cookies, the shop’s best seller, there are oatmeal cookies dipped in chocolate, eclairs, petit fours, donuts and rich brownies made from the shop’s original recipe. Seasonal favorites appear throughout the year, most recently King Cake Bites for Carnival. Football and hunting season also get the nod on decorated cookies.
Among the savory items on the menu is the “famous chicken on a stick” which Janie perfected. The fresh chicken tenders are hand breaded and fried.
Janie’s is staffed by the owners’ extended family who work as a team baking and serving customers. “It’s my son, his wife, two grandkids, my preacher’s wife and my good friend,” said Janie.
The pastry shop’s “Taste of Southern Charm” caught the eye of Hollywood in 2016 when actor John Krasinski came to town and shot a scene for his movie “The Hollars.” Janie could have been an extra, but preferred to stay behind the scenes.
“I didn’t know what to expect but it was awesome,” she said. A movie poster and an autographed photo with Krasinski are among the shop’s memorabilia that Janie has collected over the years.
Her collection includes the program from the Brookhaven homecoming production signed by Damya Edwards, the student who portrayed her.
“I told her I needed her autograph,” said Janie. “She was tickled and I was honored. It was so much fun.”
