Many stories are written about the war hero who survives a dangerous battle with cunning and stamina. But what about the everyday heroes – the ones who run a family business every day with no complaints, a wife who overcomes more than her share of challenges – a car crash that takes half her right leg, with her husband working side by side striving to earn a good living for their family of seven, even after losing his corporate job during the start of the Covid pandemic just five years ago.

Here’s the kicker: One amazing cinnamon roll saves the family business.

There is proof a neighborhood smalltown bakery can have such a dramatic effect. Ask Jennifer and David Ramos, owners of Lili Bella’s Bakery in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville.

“Baking is our love language,” says Jennifer, who first achieved a master’s degree in teaching before earning a “doctorate” in small business ownership.

It took this loving couple about a year to renovate a quaint cottage where their business thrives today – a historic place from “builder to the stars” Braxton Dixon who had constructed the iconic homes of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and others. The Ramos family opened Lili Bella’s – named for their two daughters Isabella and Abigail – in August 2019. At the time, David worked full time for Cracker Barrel corporate. Jennifer opened the bakery with a spatula in one hand and a baby strapped to her other shoulder.

Then, imagine their surprise – and disappointment – when the Covid pandemic rears its ugly head within the year and costs David his job at Cracker Barrel during layoffs in June 2000.

“We were trying to find ways to stay open. I started doing cookie kits. People were doing celebrations, but much smaller,” Jennifer recalls.

Finally, a lucky break.

A Facebook group page, Eat Hendersonville, starts writing about the marvels of their bakery items about the same time they move into a commercial kitchen. They start making cinnamon rolls – not the basic kind – but the ones from grandma’s recipe with cream cheese and buttercream icing and finished off with a four-hour rise and cinnamon brown sugar on top. These cinnamon rolls are so good they are the talk of the local barbershop.

“I’ve never had cinnamon rolls this good. Our customers line up out the door and down the street,” David says proudly. “It’s all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, and eggs. It’s our recipe. We can compete with anyone.”

And he is proud to say now that he is a cinnamon roll baker.

“There are certain products you just don’t compromise.”

Source: Lili Bella's Bakery

This is a family with great fortitude.

And this is what happens when you survive a tragedy. It was back in 2011 when Jennifer was driving along the road when a teenaged drunk driver slammed into her car. It proved catastrophic. Jennifer had her right leg amputated just below the knee.

Today, all she thinks about is how lucky she is. That’s all. No excuses. No grudges. That’s life.

“I have many customers who don’t know that I am an amputee,” Jennifer says.

They owe success in the bakery business to her grandmother, the baker, and grandfather who ran a farm in the Lexington area. Jennifer’s grandparents provided them with vivid memories of peeling apples and making jams and jellies – also cakes from scratch. Jennifer started baking for her own kids and making graduation cakes for the community – leopard print fondant cakes with fondant paws. She had a flair for the craft from the start – an artist at heart.

Over time, she trained herself to create more elaborate designs, always using ideas from local customers to bring out each creation. She listens – a valuable skill.

When the Facebook page Eat Hendersonville came into play, she kept listening. What do people really love? What do they want to try next? Social media proved an amazing resource for consumer purchasing intelligence. The Ramos family gives much credit to the people who ran the page.

“Facebook brings people in,’ Jennfier says. “Social media is huge.”

Another step in the right direction came from the harsh reality that one of their daughters has celiac disease. Even though a lot of people clamor for gluten-free nowadays, less than 2% of the population has celiac disease. They can’t have gluten – at all.

So, of course, Jennifer and David responded as they always do with perseverance. Now they make gluten-free donuts and muffins. Next up – gluten-free breads.

“We are blessed,” the couple says, “to be where we are today.”