Our Staff

Staci grew up in the kitchen! As a young girl, she spent time “helping” her Grandma Mae bake, where she learned the passion of baking at a very young age. She started working at her Aunt’s catering company when she was 12, and worked her way up to doing all the baking orders. She also spent a few years working as a server, barista and bartender in various restaurants. With a little influence from her aunt, she went to college and received a degree in baking and pastry arts, eventually working in a few fine dining establishments in the Milwaukee area as a pastry chef. 

Staci’s career path led to a position as a pastry chef/ sous chef at a scratch hospital kitchen, where she gained a lot of experience with baking for special diets. She loved working with the dietitians to create nutritional cooking and even got involved with teaching nutrition courses for the public. After the hospital, she worked at a French patisserie and cafe in Wauwatosa and soon found her way out to the West Bend area where she worked as the sous chef at Bibingers for a few years. 

After a short stint as the kitchen coordinator for an international company making large batches of cocktail mixes, tonic syrups and bitters, she decided to follow her dream of owning her own business. A few months later she started creating custom desserts for special occasions and The Sugar Mae•ven was born. In a short time she experienced rapid growth began looking for a commercial kitchen to expand her offerings. When the opportunity to open the coffee shop and cafe presented itself, she jumped at the chance. Staci never expected her dream to come true so early in life!

After earning a degree in baking in 1985, Derek worked as a baker for the Linden Inn on Big Cedar Lake for 5 years. In 1990 he took a position at Falls House of Cakes in Menomonee Falls, where he advanced his craft, learning from an older German baker. 

In 1999 Derek and his wife Monica decided to open their own bakery and started Sweet Creations Village Bakery in a strip mall in Slinger on July 18, 2000. In 2005 they expanded their operation and moved the business into a new building in the heart of Slinger, where they served their fresh baked goods to the surrounding communities for the next 22 years. In addition to providing a gathering place for customers and, over time, becoming somewhat of an institution in the area, Sweet Creations also served over 60 wholesale accounts on a daily basis. 

After 37 years in the business, Derek decided it was finally time to get some sleep for a change. He sold the building in February of 2022 and officially retired from baking… or so he thought. After only a few short months of retirement, he came to the realization that he really misses seeing his customers and creating yummy bakery for them. He is thrilled to be a part of the Maven’s team and excited to get back in the kitchen… welcome back Derek!

Alicia grew up in Kewaskum and has lived in West Bend her entire adult life. She discovered her passion for baking macarons and cookies, and reached out to Staci in hopes of being able to make macarons at the Cafe since there was nowhere else in West Bend that sells them… and macs go great with a cup of coffee! She also really wanted to learn more and expand her baking knowledge, so Mavens is a perfect fit. 

Alicia’s favorite things on the menu are bacon handpies and raspberry scones. Snickerdoodle Frappé all the way for her favorite drink! She enjoys baking at home, painting and spending time with her husband and three boys. 

Brie has been working in the service/ restaurant industry for 9 years. She has worked as a server, bartender and most importantly, a barista! Brie loves serving people and getting to know them. She chose to work at Mavens on Main because she has faith in Staci’s success and knows she can learn so much from her! Her favorite menu item is the mixed berry cheese danish and also loves the white chocolate oat milk cafe au lait.