With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Butter+Blooms boutique bakery owner Meghan Baker is in full production mode, dipping chocolate-covered strawberries, baking heart-shaped cakes, and fulfilling custom orders for Galentine’s Day-themed parties.
The rush marks her second February in business at the 100-year-old Elm Street building in Downtown Rogers. As the baker, business owner, and—until recently—the only employee, Meghan has been juggling it all with little pause since opening in July 2024.
Launching the bakery was a leap of faith for Meghan. Though she has spent almost two decades honing her craft, selling her desserts had long lived on the side of her full-time role as a lead decorator for Harps Food Stores.
Over time, that side project began to demand more space. Between fulfilling custom orders from a commercial kitchen and selling at the Bentonville Farmers Market, Meghan felt the pull to finally go all in.
“Time runs away from you if you're not careful,” Meghan says. “I wanted to do this so I’d have no regrets, so I knew I had tried everything.”
Opening the downtown Rogers space marked a turning point—her first storefront and the moment her longtime side project stepped fully into the spotlight.
Baking with Intention
Meghan’s baking journey began simply, as a way to treat the children she cared for while working as a nanny during college. As her passion for it grew, she began experimenting with creating her own recipes from scratch, and once she graduated and started her career at a hospital, she continued to make desserts for coworkers on the side.
As a kid, Meghan loved art class, so she naturally gravitated toward cake decorating alongside baking. Over the years she has competed in multiple cake decorating competitions, earning recognition among the industry’s top decorators.
While many of Meghan’s desserts are works of art, the commitment doesn’t stop at presentation. Quality ingredients are central to everything that comes out of Butter+Blooms’ kitchen.
Everything is baked from scratch, using recipes she’s developed and refined over years of trial and error. She never uses artificial flavorings or preservatives, and the only dessert with food coloring is the macarons. Even when it means higher costs, Meghan chooses premium ingredients—like King Arthur Flour and Guittard chocolate—because she believes the difference shows up in both flavor and how the desserts are experienced.
“There are definitely cheaper options,” she says. “But I think it changes the taste—and honestly, how your body reacts to it as well.”
That perspective comes from more than just time in the kitchen. Meghan holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology Health Promotion and Wellness with an emphasis in nutrition, a background that informs the way she approaches baking. While sugar is still sugar, she said many of the issues people associate with desserts stem from preservatives, dyes, and artificial additives commonly found in mass-produced sweets.
“When you eat something made from scratch, your body does react differently,” she says. “It’s still a dessert, but it’s also a dessert you can feel good about eating because you know that your body will process it differently because there's not a lot of preservatives in it.”
Season of Love
Another cornerstone of Butter+Blooms is wedding cakes—custom creations Meghan especially loves designing for her clients’ biggest days.
“You get to tap into somebody else's designs and thoughts and try to come up with something that they'll love and that their guests will love,” she says. “So you have to get into the mindset of what the vibe of their wedding is, what their vision is, and try to create something that they love.”
In addition to custom orders and wedding cakes, Butter+Blooms’ counter is stocked daily with a rotating selection of grab-and-go treats for walk-in customers. The display includes cinnamon rolls, an assortment of cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, macarons, mini loaf cakes, and 4-inch personal bento cakes. Meghan also offers savory options, including kolaches and savory rolls.
Everything Meghan creates at Butter+Blooms starts with her own taste and enthusiasm—if it isn’t something she genuinely loves to make and eat herself, it doesn’t make the cut.
“I think if you put in your love for it, it will show,” Meghan says. “In order to create something that others enjoy, I have to enjoy doing it myself. And when it's your passion, when it's fun, it doesn't feel like work.”
"I wanted to do this so I’d have no regrets."
"You get to tap into somebody else's designs and thoughts and try to come up with something that they'll love and that their guests will love."
“I think if you put in your love for it, it will show. ... When it's your passion, it doesn't feel like work."