Mise en Place: Ebony Paul offers ingredients for celebration at Brown Suga
Courtesy Ebony Paul
Ebony Paul was never really a “cake person,” always opting for cookies when she had a say at family celebrations. But she knew that the dessert of choice didn’t define the celebration; it merely helped shape it and reflected the person or subject being honored. The art of celebration is the real thing she’s selling at Brown Suga.
After picking up baking at home during the pandemic, starting with the recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag, Paul’s family and friends encouraged her to pursue it as a business. Starting with pop-ups at events around Kansas City, she built up a loyal base of cookie fans. After meticulously saving and slowly scaling, she opened her first storefront in Olathe in 2023, followed by a second location in Leawood’s Park Place in early 2026.
Just in time for the return of the fan-favorite seasonal banana pudding cookie, we sat down with Paul amidst the nostalgic fragrance of freshly baked cookies and smiles on the faces of customers popping in to treat themselves. Besides the baked goods at the counter, celebratory items such as candles, cards, and confetti poppers are available, making it a one-stop shop for a special day. It all seems to fit just right with Paul’s welcoming smile.
The Pitch: Tell us about yourself!
Ebony Paul: How Brown Suga just started is not the traditional, “I’ve always grown up loving to bake” kind of story.
I always did bake with my sister; we would bake together every holiday season. But my family is the kind of family that gathers for everything–literally everything. Like, if one person gets a promotion, everybody’s going out to eat. We love to do stuff together, and we’ve always gathered around food. My sister and I always did the desserts.
I worked in healthcare technology before I started this business, and during the pandemic, when we all got sent home, I decided to make a job change. And because I was stuck in the house, I found myself baking, experimenting. At the time, Snapchat was the place to be, and I was posting myself baking. People kept asking me, “How much?” and I’m like, “It’s not for sale,” because I was one of those people who felt like people deserve to have hobbies that don’t turn into businesses.
My mom is an entrepreneur, and she’s like, “You can sell these.” I kept telling her it was a hobby, but she would not let it go. So I told her that if she could sell them, like, if I made bags up and she sold them to people that were not her friends, that I would consider it, and she sold them all in less than three hours.
What are some skills from your corporate experience that have translated well into this business?
I actually worked in product management, which is kind of funny. We literally take things from idea to reality. Plus, I’m a cancer in nature, and I’ve planned my whole life. So that helps, because my mom is the visionary (doesn’t know how to sit down), and my sister has ADHD (doesn’t know how to sit down). So they’re the energy on our team. And I’m the person who’s looking at the rest, coming up with recipes, and telling them why we should do things a certain way. They’re the execution.
But from corporate America, I had to learn people, and most of the time, they’re people that I might not share anything in common with–like I work with doctors, and I couldn’t tell you a single thing about how to do your job, yet I still have to. I think a lot of times, in business, people create things that they would want instead of what people want. So sometimes I’m able to be like, it doesn’t really matter if I think it tastes good, as long as others love it. I take nothing personally.
Courtesy Ebony Paul
What is the bestselling cookie?
It really depends on the season. People really like our chocolate chip cookie. But then there are cookies we bring around seasonally that we can’t do all year, just because they’re too expensive. From those, I would say our number one is our banana pudding cookie. Everybody loves that cookie. I get asked all the time if it can stay, but wafers are expensive, people!
Baking is a science, but there are always variables that you have no control over. If you could pick one element of the baking process to lock in place and never change, what would it be?
A lot of times, people will say they use special ingredients. But from what I’ve learned, there are only two things that really matter, and that’s your vanilla and your butter. Like, not using European butter, and using just regular store-bought butter or margarine–it completely changes the taste of your product. And then a lot of vanillas are, in other words, disgusting, and don’t taste real.
Sugar is sugar. Flour is flour, honestly.
But then I will also say the mixing process, like how long you let your butter go until it reaches the emulsification, affects the texture of your cookie. And that’s one of the most important parts, because if you don’t get that right and you add cold eggs when they’re supposed to be room temperature, it can completely mess up the way that your cookie bakes and forms.
Courtesy Ebony Paul
What should home bakers look for when shopping for butter?
Always buy European butter. Doesn’t matter what the brand is; just don’t buy sweet cream. It’s not gonna work out well for you. It’s likely to be technically buttery, but we would probably call it greasy.
The title of this column is Mise en Place… what does that mean for you in your kitchens?
The funny thing is, for me, I am the person who comes up with the recipes and then hands them off. So I am always focused on the celebration piece of the business, because that’s really how it started for me.
“Everything in place,” as an entrepreneur, is bigger than just the kitchen. Do the people who work here thoroughly enjoy it and feel like family? Do we make them feel safe? Do they feel comfortable helping our customers and showing their personality? Because we want people to feel comfortable.
Does everything feel like a celebration for our customers? This really comes into play with social media. When it comes to Brown Suga, I always try to make people feel like I’m not just trying to get you to buy something- I want you to really feel invested and on this joyful journey with us. We never took out loans; we literally got the money to open our first store from selling cookies at pop-ups and events, slowly growing our customer base. People really feel like they’re on the journey with us, and it’s been a sweet and crazy ride.
Brown Suga is at 1066 W. Santa Fe St, Olathe, KS 66061, and 11529 Ash St, Leawood, KS 66211.
