Zionsville family raises third-generation bakery to a new level
By Abby Walton Creating culinary confections is baked into Terry Rake’s DNA. “I wasn’t born when my grandfather, William Titus, had his bakery, but I worked for my father’s bakery in the early 1980s,” Rake said. Her father, Bill Titus, started what would become a destination for sweet lovers when he opened up Titus Pastry Shoppe in Lebanon. “We’re known for a doughnut called the Pershing,” she said. This round, moist pastry contains a mixture of cinnamon swirl topped with maple icing.
“It’s actually a family recipe,” Rake said. Although her grandfather and father ran successful baking businesses, Rake decided to go a different direction by starting an event planning business called Indy Events Management Group. She also was working as the executive director for the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association when her father decided to retire. “About two years ago, I knew Dad wanted to retire, but I never guessed that I would be the one to take over the business,” she said. At the end of last year, Terry and her husband, Tom, took over Titus Pastry Shoppe, turning her into a third generation baker. “I wondered if I could pull this off,” she said. Knowing what a legacy her family had built, Rake said she wanted to continue offering the baked goods they were known for, but also wanted to expand their product line. “That’s why we decided to change the name to Titus Bakery,” she said. Now the bakery offers everything from cakes and pies to cookies and of course, doughnuts. “We added a maple bacon doughnut which is a long john with maple icing and two strips of bacon on top. People really seem to like it,” she said. Not only have the Rakes expanded the bakery’s product line, they’ve also expanded the hours the shop is open, added a drive-through feature and now serve lunch. “We’re always trying to put ourselves in the customer’s shoes to create a great experience,” said Tom. In fact, the couple, who live in Zionsville, split the day so one or both of them is always there.
Titus Bakery
820 W. South St. in Lebanon
765-482-1740
Hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays