When Rachel Midgette began making pastries to sell at a local farmers’ market, she had no idea her newfound passion would grow into the successful business it is today.

Rachel K’s Bakery, located on Market Street in Washington, opened its doors in March 2015, serving a variety of homemade pastries, breads and Southern-inspired recipes. It has since grown to be a community staple, attracting locals and out-of-towners, and was recently featured in Our State magazine.

The Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce took notice of Midgette’s success, as it awarded Rachel K’s the title of 2016 Small Business of the Year, announced in January at the annual Chamber awards ceremony. The bakery won co-Small Business of the Year a couple of years ago, but this time around it was the sole recipient.

“We were really thrilled with it,” Midgette said. “It was a visible recognition of, kind of, the day-to-day work that we’re putting in and the amazing support we’ve had through the community.”

Midgette said she had no idea she would be receiving the award, but she became suspicious when her husband insisted on attending the Chamber event.

“I thought something might be up when he wanted to make sure we were going,” she laughed.

The sky is the limit for this homegrown business owner from Bath. The early morning hours spent baking before the sun comes up have paid off.

“We’re trying to expand our catering a little bit,” she said. “Trying to mix up some of our pastry offerings. We’re going to be selling again at the farmers’ market in Greenville, and we’re trying to expand some of our offerings over there during the summer.”

She said she intends for her staff to take more baking and cooking courses to continue learning new skills.

With two years under its belt, the Rachel K’s staff is proud and looking forward to the future.

“It was really nice to have a minute to kind of step back and look at what we’ve done in the two years that we’ve been open and to appreciated how far we’ve come,” Midgette said.