‘Cheesecake It Is!’

“Shut your pie hole” is an interesting phrase, especially when naming a cheesecake business. It is certainly a moniker that is appropriate for a bakery. After all, where does the cheesecake experience start if not the “pie hole.”

Laurie and Mark Hempen could have retired and put their feet up. They have raised two great sons and have a daughter-in-law they love and have careers they’ve enjoyed. But retire, not on your life. Instead they have taken what started as a hobby and turned it into a full-fledged business.

Laurie has been making cheesecakes for over 30 years. Word got out about the delicious recipe, so Laurie started taking orders from friends at first, then from friends of friends, and finally from customers.

Sometime during this “request” phase, cheesecake day became a thing at the radio station. Mark Hempen had worked at KBUR/KGRS as the radio personality Big Mark Hempen. Coworkers would request a new flavor and Laurie would see what she could do. It became a “word-of-mouth” thing and the business grew.

Laurie did a pop-up cheesecake shop at Etc. Gift Shop in Mt. Pleasant … more followed: booths at the Jefferson Street Farmers Market and Main Street Mediapolis. A drop-in at the Concordia Cigar Store at Christmastime 2023 led to Brandon and Kathy Benz putting the cheesecakes on the dessert menu at their business, Busted Cup Brewhouse, and at Poppie’s Market where mini cheesecakes can be purchased. Both are located at 724 Jefferson Street in Burlington.

As the business grew, Laurie decided the hobby should become a business, so she started the steps to get an in-home food processing license through the state’s health department. At about the same time, time Darren Warth, Laurie’s brother, urged the Hempens to think bigger and consider a commercial kitchen.

Now Darren Warth isn’t just any run-of-the-mill brother. He is the owner of Smokey D’s BBQ in Ankeny. He is the award-winning barbecue pitmaster, winning many competitions. At the Jack Daniel's Invitational BBQ Championship in Tennessee, Laurie entered her key lime cheesecake. It received a perfect score and tied for first place.

Convincing his sister and brother-in-law that it was time to expand, he assisted them with his food business acumen. Warth provided the financials, the guidance, and another outlet for the cheesecakes.

Mark retired from his job as the Henry County Health Center Foundation’s director in May 2024, and now runs the business full-time. He supervises all daily operations, retail orders, and deliveries. He also bakes the cheesecakes.

Laurie, a year younger than Mark, isn’t quite ready to retire. She continues as the HR Director at Southeastern Community College. She works at the shop part-time evenings and weekends. She handles the inventory, accounting and payroll, special orders, social media, point of sales system, and decorates a lot of cheesecakes.

They have hired six part-time employees. So far they bake, decorate, run the sales counter, and run out delivery routes.

I asked why they decided to build a store now.

“Several reasons. We are very pleased that the demand for our cheesecakes was outgrowing our home licensed bakery, but we had to tell a lot of people ‘no,’ which we don’t like to do,” Laurie said. “It was also physically taking over many of the spaces in our home so it was difficult to entertain, etc. We were also missing out on the market of people who just want to try a slice of cheesecake or need one at the last minute for an event or to do something special for someone — the retail shop and display case allows us to fill that need.”

She continued, “That has been the really fun part of the business so far — we have met some really lovely people who come into our shop and enjoy our cheesecake. We also hope to be able to begin supplying my brother’s (Darren Warth) restaurants and catering company in Des Moines — once we become more efficient with our processes and figure out what the southeast Iowa market is going to look like, and once the “new” wears off. We are also exploring being able to ship cheesecakes.”

As a personal point of interest, I had to know if they ever get sick of cheesecake. Laurie answered resoundingly:

“We NEVER get sick of making cheesecakes and making people happy with cheesecakes. We got sick of eating cheesecake a very long time ago, and we can’t eat cheesecake as a general rule — other than to take a bite of new flavors to make sure they meet our standards.”

The new location is also going to be home to Hempen Gun Works LLC. Mark and Laurie’s younger son Kendall has an Associate Degree from Iowa Valley Community College in gunsmithing. He will also provide gun repair and custom gunsmithing soon.

Mark and Laurie’s older son, Christian, and his wife Amy live in Columbia, Missouri. There, they are testing the market, baking, and introducing the brand to a new area.

Shut Your Piehole Cheesecakes is also supplied to Smokey D’s as the base for the Jar-Fait desserts.

They added, “We have had a lot of requests for sugar free cheesecakes. We are exploring that and hope to be able to offer those soon. We do make gluten free cheesecakes, but those have to be ordered in advance.”

Both Mark and Laurie are really grateful for the warm reception and support their little shop has received from New London and other southeast Iowa residents in their first month of business. They have had numerous people call, message, or stop back in to tell them that it’s the best cheesecake they have ever eaten, which really makes their long hours and effort all worth it.

“We have hired some fantastic employees to help us and we are all just having fun ‘spreading the cheesecake love’ and making people a little bit happier with a slice of cheesecake!”

Shut Your Pie Hole Cheesecakes is located at 600 South Pine, New London. Business hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. The business will also be open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They plan to eventually host a Grand Opening, with a date to be determined. It will be in the Journal, so keep an eye out!

Congratulations to the Hempens, and our pie holes are “shut” as we try another delicious piece of cheesecake! Amazing!