I'm Marion, the sourdough lady behind Fixing a Feast Artisan Sourdough Bakehouse here in Melissa, Texas. đ
My path to this little bakery has been a bit unexpected. I've spent most of my career in retail management, but somewhere along the way, I fell head over heels in love with sourdough. What started as baking bread for my family slowly turned into sharing it with friends, then neighbors, and eventually a full-blown cottage bakery.
I truly believe God has a way of putting us exactly where we're supposed to be, even when we don't see the path clearly at first. Fixing a Feast has become so much more than selling bread for me. It's about creating something with my hands, connecting with my community, teaching people that they really can make beautiful sourdough at home, and hopefully bringing a little goodness to people's tables.
I'm still amazed that something I started in my own kitchen has grown into this little business that allows me to serve my community doing something I genuinely love. And I'm excited to see where God takes it next.
When did the idea for your business first take shape, and what inspired you to pursue it?
I've always known that I would work in food. In fact, I've owned the Fixing a Feast name and FixingaFeast.com for a long time, so the idea of working in food was never really a question for me. I just didn't know what it would look like. And then sourdough came into my lifeâand I truly never saw it coming. What started as an interest in sourdough very quickly became something much bigger than I ever could have planned or imagined. I genuinely believe sourdough is God's work in my life. It has opened doors, connected me with my community, and given me an opportunity to serve people in a way that feels incredibly purposeful.
What do you remember most about getting the business off the ground?
What I remember most is the long days. I work a lot of hours, and building a business like this takes a tremendous amount of time and energy. But in order to pour that much of yourself into something, it really has to be fulfilling. For me, the reward has always been seeing people at market. I love seeing their faces when they come up to my table, hearing how much they love the bread, and knowing that something I made with my own hands is actually making a difference in their lives. One of the things that means the most to me is knowing that I'm helping people change what they're putting on their tables and in their bodies. There's something really special about knowing that a loaf of properly fermented, nourishing sourdough can become part of someone's everyday life. So yes, I remember the long days, I still work themâbut I also remember the faces. And those faces made all the hours worth it.
Building a business comes with its share of surprises. What have been some of the harder moments you've had to work through?
Honestly, one of the harder parts for me has been the technology side of building a business. I'm a great baker, and I feel very confident in the kitchen, but give me a website, social media, an online ordering system, or some new piece of technology, and sometimes it gets the better of me! There's just so much that goes into running a business behind the scenes that has nothing to do with actually making the bread. I've had to learn a lot along the way, and I'm still learning. Sometimes it means figuring something out the hard way, asking for help, or just sitting down and trying again until I get it. It's been a good reminder that I don't have to be naturally good at every part of my business. I just have to be willing to learn, keep moving, and figure it out as I go.
Looking back, what has running your business taught you that you didn't expect to learn?
That I can do a lot on little sleep!
What does your business do, and what can people in your community come to you for?
Fixing a Feast is an artisan sourdough bakehouse serving my local community here in North Texas. I make naturally fermented sourdough breads, specialty loaves, focaccia, bagels, baguettes, dinner rolls, bread bowls, cookies, butters, and other seasonal goodies. But people can come to me for more than just bread. I care deeply about nourishing people with real food and creating things that are made thoughtfully and with purpose. I also love teaching people, and I'm excited to help others gain confidence in their own kitchens and discover that sourdough doesn't have to be intimidating or perfect. And honestly, people can come to me for prayer, too. I'm never too busy to stop and pray for someone. Prayer is my most powerful tool, and if someone comes to my table carrying something heavy, I want them to know they can bring that to me. Sometimes what someone needs most isn't another loaf of breadâit's someone willing to stop, listen, and pray with them. That's really what Fixing a Feast means to me. It's more than bread. It's about nourishing people, serving my community, and being obedient to the place God has called me to be.
When someone chooses your business, what do you hope they notice or experience that sets you apart?
I hope people notice that there's a level of intentionality behind everything I do. I care about the ingredients, I care about the fermentation, I care about the quality of the food, and I care about the person who is going to take it home and feed it to their family. I want people to experience the difference that real, properly fermented sourdough can make. I want them to taste something that is nourishing, thoughtfully made, and genuinely good. But beyond the food, I hope they experience me. I'm a one-woman bakery, so when you come to my table, you're talking to the person who mixed the dough, shaped the loaves, baked the bread, and packed your order. I want people to feel welcomed and knownânot like they're just another customer. And I hope they see that this business is about more than making a sale. It's about serving people. Whether that means sharing a loaf of bread, answering a sourdough question, listening to what's going on in someone's life, or stopping to pray with them, I want people to leave my table feeling like they received something a little more meaningful than they expected. That's what I hope sets Fixing a Feast apart.
Is there a product, service, or part of your business that you wish more people knew about?
I wish more people knew just how much thought and care goes into the ingredients I use. I go to great lengths to source the best ingredients I can find and sustainably afford as a small business. Whenever possible, I look for local or organic ingredients, no seed oils, we use grass-fed dairy, and stay away from preservatives and unnecessary additives. I'm constantly researching, comparing, and looking for ways to make the food I'm putting on someone's table just a little bit better. I think sometimes people see a loaf of sourdough and think, "It's just bread." But there is so much more to it than that. The quality of the flour, the fermentation, the butter, the cheese, the olive oilâall of those little decisions matter. I'm a very small bakery, so I can't always choose the most expensive ingredient available. But I can be incredibly intentional about what I choose, and I'm proud of the standards I've set for Fixing a Feast. For me, it really comes down to this: if I wouldn't want to feed it to my own family, I don't want to put it in yours. That commitment to quality is one of the things I'm most proud of.
What keeps you excited about the work you do?
Simply, serving others
What are some of the values or principles that guide the way you run your business?
There are a few things that really guide the way I run Fixing a Feast, but probably the biggest is that I genuinely care about nourishing people. Sourdough actually began as one step in a much bigger journey for Tom and me. After Tom's cancer diagnosis in 2016, we became much more intentional about studying nutrition and looking at what we were putting into our bodies. We're incredibly grateful that he is now ten years cancer-free and in remission, and that experience changed the way we think about food. Bread was one of the last pieces of that puzzle. We wanted to find a really good, nourishing bread, and we found that it was surprisingly difficult to find one that met the standards we were looking for. So I started making it myself. That experience has stayed at the heart of what I do. I care about how food is made, where the ingredients come from, and what I'm ultimately putting on someone else's table. I want to make food that I can feel good about feeding my own family and feel equally good about feeding yours. My own journey with infertility has also deepened my appreciation for nutrition and for how much we can learn about caring for our bodies. That has been a very personal part of our story, but it has reinforced something I already believe strongly: what we eat matters, and nourishing ourselves is an important form of stewardship. So I try to run my business with intentionality, integrity, generosity, and excellence. I want to use the gift God has given meânot just to make beautiful bread, but to serve people and hopefully bless them in the process. At the end of the day, I'm not trying to make food that is simply pretty or trendy. I want to make food that is genuinely nourishing, made with the highest-quality ingredients I can sustainably source, and something I'm proud to put on my own table and yours.
What does being a local business owner mean to you, and what do you appreciate most about the community you're part of?
Being a local business owner means so much to me because I get to actually know the people I'm serving. I'm not just shipping bread across the country or putting a product on a shelf. I get to stand at my table at market, look people in the eye, learn their names, hear their stories, and become a small part of their lives. And I think that's what I appreciate most about this communityâthe people. North Texas has been incredibly welcoming and supportive of my little bakery. They've cheered me on, shown up at markets, told their friends about me, encouraged me when things were hard, and trusted me to feed their families. There's something really special about building a business where you can see the direct impact of your work. When someone comes back and tells me that my bread has become part of their family's routine, or they bring a friend to my table, or they stop just to say hello and tell me how much they love what I'm doingâthat means more to me than they probably realize. Being a local business owner gives me the opportunity to serve the people right around me, and I don't take that responsibility lightly. I'm incredibly grateful that God has allowed me to build this little business in a community that has embraced it so wholeheartedly.
Is there a customer story that has stayed with you?
There's one customer story that has stayed with me for years. A couple of years ago, I had a customer who had a gluten sensitivity and had not been able to enjoy bread for a very long time. Because of the way I make my sourdoughâwith a long, traditional fermentation processâshe found that she was able to enjoy Fixing a Feast sourdough. That alone meant so much to me, but then she told me that she had taken several of my bagels with her on a hiking trip. She hiked all the way to the top of a mountain, and when she got there, she sat down, took in this incredible view, and ate a bagel. She was able to sit on top of a mountain and enjoy bread againâsomething she hadn't been able to do in a very long time. That story really stayed with me because it reminded me that what I'm doing is about so much more than baking bread. I get to make something that becomes part of people's lives and experiences. Sometimes it's breakfast around the kitchen table, sometimes it's a family dinner, and sometimes it's a bagel at the top of a mountain. Those are the moments that make all the early mornings and long hours worth it.
What do you hope people remember about your business after they've experienced it?
I hope people remember how they felt when they experienced Fixing a Feast. I hope they remember the warmth, the care, and the genuine love that goes into everything I do. I hope they remember that it wasn't just about buying breadâit was about being part of something meaningful. I want them to remember that Fixing a Feast is a place where they were welcomed, known, and served with intention. Where the food was made with the highest-quality ingredients and a genuine desire to nourish them and their families. And I hope they remember that what I do is about more than bread. It's about faith, community, and using the gifts God has given me to serve others. I hope they leave with a full heart, not just a full bag. Most of all, I hope they remember that they were lovedâthat every loaf, every interaction, and every moment at my table was rooted in a genuine desire to bless them and bring a little goodness into their lives.
âSometimes it's breakfast around the kitchen table, sometimes it's a family dinner, and sometimes it's a bagel at the top of a mountain.â