CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Editor's Note: This story is a part of 13News Now's Friday Flavor series.
Brenda Harford was an educator for nearly 30 years when she decided to shift careers and become a full-time baker.
She opened Whole-ly Rollers Bakery with her faith in mind: a Christian-based bakery with a play on the name.
"People said it was so good it will make you want to shout, and I said, 'Huh. We did a lot of shouting in our old Baptist church,'" Harford laughed. "Then some girl in the hair salon was like, 'That's like a Holy Roller,' and I'm like, 'Yes!'"
Whole-ly Rollers was born, with her grandmother's recipes at the center of the bakery.
"It would be sinful to come to Whole-ly Rollers and not get our yeast rolls," Harford said.
The yeast roll recipe is her grandmother's. Harford makes sure to honor her grandmother across the bakery.
"Even though she's been gone for decades, we remember her, people speak her name, and it's though her spirit comes alive," she smiled.
The yeast rolls are classic. However, a lot of people come in for the Cinnamon Rolls. They are served fresh with homemade buttercream frosting. You can also grab a sweet potato pie or one of their many other sweet treats.
One customer, Jimmy Calhoun, stopped 13News Now to gush over the owner; he was once her principal when she attended Great Bridge High School.
"She was an outstanding athlete, and she's outstanding in this business," he said. Outstanding athlete might be an understatement.
"God did bless me with my talent to play basketball. I'm the all-time leading scorer for women's basketball [at Great Bridge High]," Harford said. "My record has been 40 years, and no one has even come close or threatened to knock me off the thrown," she smiled with pride. She scored a total of 1,216 points before she graduated in 1983.
Harford puts just as much effort into her baking as she puts in on the court, if not more. Everything is made fresh in-house, and she takes pride in her product.
"The homemade yeast rolls, they melt in your mouth; it's just like going to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts; you can't eat just one," Linda Thompson, the Director of Marketing and twin sister to Harford, smiled. "I'm not just saying this because I am her sister!"
"The pecan pie, the coconut custard pie, the cinnamon buns with the homemade buttercream icing, the 7 Up pound cake with the lemon glaze icing ... everything is baked fresh every morning," Thompson added.
Whole-ly Rollers is located at 745 N Battlefield Blvd, Chesapeake, VA 23320.