Patti Stobaugh, owner of Conway, Arkansas based PattiCakes Bakery, is 13 years into her “encore career” and loving every minute of it. She left the corporate accounting world knowing she wanted to do something different. Achieving her dream of giving Conway a 100 percent from-scratch bakery has been an arduous task, but she’s almost there.

Patti and her husband David own PattiCakes Bakery and Stoby’s Restaurants together. Stoby’s is an Arkansas legend since 1980, and one-time winner of World Cheese Dip Competition. “My husband is my partner – in business and life! We complement each other well… it’s just hard to set work down when we go home!” says Patti.

Patti holds an accounting degree from Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. After graduating from Lyon, Patti worked in a number of different industries before moving on to become the CFO of Arkansas One Call, Arkansas’s utility damage prevention company.

After leaving Arkansas One Call, Patti decided to open a bakery in Russellville, across the street from one of their restaurants. The Russellville bakery saw much success, Patti decided to expand to Conway. The Conway bakery saw much success and astoundingly fast growth. After 6 months of working both bakeries, Patti made the difficult decision to sell the Russellville bakery to focus on the Conway store and spend more time with her family.

David and Patti love their community, and try hard to give back. They are active supporters of HAVEN House (where Patti is past president) and the Bethlehem House in Conway. Most Sunday mornings, you’ll find Stoby’s open free of charge, allowing the building to be used for non-profit organizations to host pancake breakfast fundraisers. Patti is Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, and is Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Retail Bakers of America.

Patti and David are blessed with a big family – 4 children and 4 grandchildren (another on the way September 21st). Patti leaves work early to watch her grandsons two days a week. When Patti and David arrive home, they’re greeted by their four rescue dogs, Ellie, Nook, Triscuit, and Josie. Plus whatever stray beagle they might be fostering at the moment.