multimedia package by Kelley Pruitt and Chase Matthews

Willie Lewis Armstrong’s love for baking started at a young age. Ever since he was little he could remember watching his aunts, grandmother and mother baking in the kitchen. He started working at Allen’s food market back in 1995 and remembers doing a potluck, where he brought two pecan pies.

“After everyone ate, Judy Allen, the owner, sat next to me and she said, ‘Willie, that is the best pecan pie I have ever eaten in my entire life,’” Armstrong said. “She said you know what I would like to do, I’d like to sell these in my market.”

They would freeze Armstrong’s pies in Allen’s market for people to come and buy;  they would even have tasting parties. After realizing how popular his pecan pies were, Armstrong decided to branch off, creating Butter & Eggs Southern Desserts a wholesale market that was a hit to the public.

‘My favorite thing about baking is the compliments.  I like to know that others enjoy the taste of my desserts and that the people buying them are satisfied, which is why I make sure to use quality ingredients,” Armstrong said.

Butter & Eggs is a one man show and Armstrong is the man behind it all.

“I sweep, I mop, I clean, I bake, I sell, I do it all,” Armstrong said.