TAMPA, Fla. — There’s a South Tampa mom who turned to baking to relieve the stress of the pandemic. What she didn’t realize is that her cocoa pops and cocoa bombs wouldn’t just put a smile on her face, but the entire community.
Before Pamela Burton made the kitchen into her new office, she used to work in the medical field, until the pandemic turned her life upside down.
“I was doing like three people’s full-time jobs so I got burnt out and I was getting really sick physically, mentally, and I just figured my health was more important,” said Burton.
Burton turned to baking desserts, specifically cocoa pops and cocoa bombs. However, she never expected what would happen next, after she shared her tasty treats with another mom on her son’s baseball team.
“And she gave them to the neighbors and overnight she’s like, ‘I need a dozen more, I need this, I need that,’ I’m like, ‘whoa, whoa, whoa ok wait,’” said Burton. “I was just giving them away as gifts and now everybody wants to order and I’m like, ‘ok, fine, I’ll do it.’”
In just the last month Pamela has sold hundreds of these pops. It has become an unexpected business.
“It's gotten to the point where I almost need to hire somebody for help, my daughter,” said Burton. “She’s 16 and it's not free, I do have to pay her.”
Customers like Nicole Meredith traveled as far as Riverview to pick up their order.
“I didn’t realize how far she had spread but clearly we drove all the way from Riverview to get them so I’m not surprised at all and I think it's pretty amazing,” said Meredith.
Burton said her favorite part is the reaction from the kids as they plop the pop in milk and take a bite. Now all she needs is a name for this business.
“I was going between Pam’s Cocoa Treats and Pam’s Cocoa Delights and everyone seemed to like the delights one better so Pam’s Cocoa Delights, you can look me up on Facebook,” said Burton.
