Oh MY! Mini Cheesecakes in Valley Village

I love cheesecake! I can eat it for breakfast, lunch and every snack in between several times a week.

I made my first cheesecake from scratch at 22, shortly after my son was born. 23 yrs ago. I have tweaked the recipe and my cheesecakes are creamy and in demand during the holidays. But, cheesecake making is expensive and time consuming.

So, how do I get my cheesecake fix? How do I find delicious, unique and stunningly creative cheesecake nearby? That’s easy. Pacific Cheesecake Company in Valley Village aka that part of North Hollywood where the taxes are higher.

The really cool thing is, they sell 120 flavors of individually sized mini cheesecake for $3.25 each. 20 to 30 flavors are featured each day and they are constantly coming up with new flavors. They also sell full sized. More on that later.

Take a peak at the pictures above.  Go ahead, I will look away while you grab a napkin to wipe the drool off your chin. Amazing, right?

The Her-Story

During Karen Freeman’s 17 yrs in banking and 20+ yrs of baking, countless friends kept telling her that her cheesecakes were fantastic. So, she and her sons started the research necessary to start a business. After countless hours of study and teaching her sons to bake her magical cakes, the family owned and operated Pacific Cheesecake Company started in Glendale in 2010. In 2012 the store moved to our ‘Hood. I have been a fan…I mean loyal customer since they opened last winter.

Today, Karen and her Son Mike Freeman are partners in running the Pacific Cheesecake Company with a passion for quality and love for their customers. Karen did something right here because she and her son have a great relationship as mother and son and business partners.

Sittin’ Down with Mike

My favorite part of this blog is meeting all of the cool and impassioned people who live and work in North Hollywood (and nearby). I was able to have a chat with Mike recently and it was really a lot of fun. (I took a really crappy picture. Mike is so sweet and adorable.)

Mike is 29, super passionate about cheesecake, adores the kindness of customers in our neighborhood and he also does great work in the LGBT community. 

He moved back to LA from San Francisco, where he attended San Francisco State University, to start the business with his mother. What does Mike think of North Hollywood? “I love the arts and culture in the NoHo area. I adore the customers here. They have been so warm and welcoming. I got that same feel when I looked at the iheartnoho website.” I did NOT pay him to say that. That makes me very happy to hear.

Mike is the lead baker. He told me some inside secrets about their two day process to make these masterpieces. He showed me around the kitchen and my jaw dropped when he showed me that day’s stock of wonderful little bundles of sumptuousness.

They use specialty mini cheesecake baking pans. Mike and Karen come in every morning and bake while the day progresses. As I mentioned above, it is a time consuming process.

They recently hired 2 staff people who will help alleviate some of the chaos of baking and providing fantastic customer service all at once.

Mike said, “Our new employees bring a good spirit to the team.” You hear that new PCC staff? They really appreciate you.

At around 3 oz depending on decoration, these cakes are the perfect size for “cheat day”, as one customer said while I was in the store. Because they are so tasty, she can fulfill that craving for a sweet with just a few bites.

These mini cheesecakes are also great for…

•  bringing to a pot luck when you didn't have time to make anything.
•  picking up on your way to a birthday party.
•  ordering ahead for a wedding or large party.
•  as a thank you for your dentist? YES!

While I was at the store, a local named Andrew came in. He says he travels a lot and missed a dentist appointment due to an oversees business trip. This was his first time stopping in to Pacific Cheesecake Company and he was excited to grab a variety of flavors as an apology to the dental office staff. We laughed that he could miss 2 or 3 appointments and be forgiven with the box of one dozen mini cheesecakes he picked up.

Requests for specific flavors and sizes, as well as larger catering type orders should be made at least 48 hour in advance.

The full sized Cheesecakes are:

• 8 inch cheesecake for $35
• 10 inch cheesecakes for $45

As a home baker who has priced out what it would cost me to bake and sell cheesecakes, I call that a very good price.

Community Minded

Mike has worked with LGBT youth for many years and is a Steering Committee member with the  Models of Pride Conference   , a project of Lifeworks and the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center.

This year’s FREE one day conference for  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQA) youth and their allies, takes place will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at USC. Mike is engaged in the planning of this annual conference and this year he and a friend will be running a workshop. He is excited about the workshop, which is on how local GSAs(Gay Student Associations) can unite with each other to have a greater impact on LGBT issues.

To my teen and young adult LGBTQ friend in NoHo, and you know who you are, check this conference out. You can find out more at the website  or on facebook and twitter.

Lest you think that Mike is the only PCC family member with a passion for giving back to the community, Karen Freeman has her own passion in animal rescue. Karen told me, “It’s just part of my heart. I’ve rescued animals for years, a few birds with broken wings that we’ve taken to the animal rescue in Calabasas (they will help you with any wild creature and also give you a follow up on their progress). Stray dogs, that sometimes we’ve taken in for the day/night(s) posting signs in the neighborhood, until their owners came to claim them; and of course our family pets (dogs) have all been adopted from shelters.”

She continued by saying, “I believe when you adopt a dog or cat from a shelter, they are the most loving, loyal and grateful pets you could have. Not only are you saving them, they may also be saving you by adding more love to your life then you could possibly imagine.”

It makes me happy to not only be able to share my favorite cheesecake place with all of you, but also share this family’s love for their fellow two and four legged beings.

Are you ready to head over to Pacific Cheesecake Company and meet them? What are you waiting for?

Pacific Cheesecake Company
4820 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
Valley Village, CA 91607

Hours

Sunday – Monday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday -Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Social Media/More Info

Facebook
Twitter
Yelp
Instagram

Have you had cheesecakes from PCC? Let me know about your favorites in the comments.