The Cake Lady Makes It Big
Kelly Rigsby is the ultimate story of success. The daughter of a coal miner, Kelly served Walker County’s cake and baking needs for decades. Then opportunity came knocking.
Words by Ansley Goodson | Images by Ryan McGill
The name 5 Loaves Cafe and Bakery came to Kelly Rigsby in a word from God.
A longtime baker and cake maker in the Walker County area, Kelly once had plans to open her own restaurant called Kelly’s Café. But that soon changed.
“I was sitting in church with a notebook in my hand, writing down items that I wanted to serve…I had a page for the breakfast, lunch, and dessert menu, and I heard it as clear as a bell…it was 5 Loaves Bakery,” Kelly says. “My mother and daddy sit in front of me at church. I leaned up and I told my mom, 5 Loaves Bakery. God just gave me the name.”
At the time, Kelly was no newcomer to the dessert, catering, and restaurant industry. Long before the emergence of 5 Loaves Cafe and Bakery and R&R Cafe, Kelly’s custom catering creations took the stage. As a mother of three and a jack-of-all-trades, Kelly never accepted ‘no’ for an answer, continuing to punch the clock as a full-time paralegal while growing a client base on the side as a locally renowned cake and culinary queen.
After decades of utilizing her home kitchen to fulfill custom catering and dessert orders, word got out that she was in fact, “the cake lady.” Kelly was acclaimed for the “not so secret” ingredient in all her recipes— extra love. And for over thirty years, her output gained momentum that made for a future of feeding the multitudes.
One factor that governed the development of 5 Loaves Cafe and Bakery was that of family. The nudge to launch a family-style cafe and bakery came from her children. Ani, her middle daughter, proposed the idea of offering breakfast and lunch items; Amanda, her oldest daughter, was ready to serve while duplicating her mom’s superpower of versatility; and son Dalton returned home from culinary school ready to bring his creative skill set to the table.
Kelly believed that if she could concentrate on baking while securing the support and helping hands of her loved ones that the business would succeed. For years, it appeared as if the right opportunity never arose—until that fateful Sunday morning.
With only one Kelly and an entire community to feed, God endorsed her plan, and 5 Loaves Cafe and Bakery opened in downtown Jasper in May 2018. The name was based on the story found in Matthew 14:13-21, the miracle feeding of five loaves and two fish.
After opening, Kelly prayed, crossed her fingers, and held on for the ride.
She quickly realized that God had blessed the path ahead in advance. In a town that could be finicky about its food, 5 Loaves passed the taste test. “When it took off, it was what Jasper wanted. We wanted to make sure that everything that we made was fresh, so I think it just caught on,” Kelly says. “Jasper fell in love with it, and so to maintain it, we had to maintain that quality. I believe quality is the number one key to maintaining.”
Today, mornings at 5 Loaves begin with coffee, juice, cinnamon and orange rolls, and breakfast menu items of one’s choice. Daily lunch specials include homemade style meals—a meat and sides—while alternate menu items include burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads, and more.
So where did she get her inspiration? Kelly learned to prepare recipes as a young girl and continues to incorporate these same recipes as staple pieces at the restaurant. “I grew up on this chicken and dressing. I grew up on this chicken casserole. I grew up on this meatloaf that you know and love,” she says. “We make it family inspired.”
Perhaps entrepreneurship wasn’t initially in Kelly’s mind as she was busy maintaining the 5 Loaves quality, but the year 2021 ushered in a new venture, R&R, located on Walston Bridge Rd. The expansion not only allowed for additional room to accommodate dine-in table service for lunch, but also a more versatile menu, inspired by her travels, and, as she says, the “cool places” she has been.
Menu items include breakfast specials, whipped coffee, and fresh bowls with choice of rice and/or protein; soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and desserts. Specials include shrimp and grits, fettuccine alfredo, salmon plates, and more. As well, all dessert orders are fulfilled at R&R, where Kelly hand bakes each dessert order for both restaurants.
As she looks back on her life and career, Kelly credits her parents for her success. The proud daddy’s girl of Billy Joe Rigsby, a coal miner, and the proud daughter of Paulette Rigsby, Kelly was demonstrated a hard work ethic by her parents, which bore out in an eagerness to learn.
“My parents are very instrumental in why I do what I do, why I work the way that I work, and who I am, because I was raised by two very strong, hardworking individuals,” she says
A woman of faith and no fear, Kelly executes and elevates under pressure while fulfilling her God-given purpose. And with a divine delegation to bless others through baking, a call to serve her community, a love for family like no other, a lot of coffee and a little sleep, Kelly is a homegrown woman in Walker County who has turned a passion into an empire. 78