The Pastry Depot opened its doors in October 2017, providing pastry supplies and products to enthusiasts and industry professionals alike. Chef Frances Coffey established The Pastry Depot to fulfill the need in the Atlanta area for access to high-quality pastry products, without the requirement of a membership or account with a large distributor. The Pastry Depot offers a public brick & mortar retail store, online shop with shipping across the USA, and wholesale accounts for local Metro Atlanta businesses.

As a family and female-owned company, The Pastry Depot takes pride in providing its customers with the best service and products. Combining expertise of chefs on-staff with the shopping experience of a boutique shop, the goal of The Pastry Depot is to inspire those passionate about pastry by showcasing the professional-grade products available on the market.

Meet the Team

Frances Coffey, Owner

Frances has been working in the food industry since she was 16 years old, when she began work at a local catering company. Her passion for cooking, and specifically pastry, grew, so she continued following that career path to culinary school at the Art Institute of Atlanta. After graduating, Frances was employed by hotels, restaurants, and prestigious country clubs around Atlanta, working her way up the ladder to head Pastry Chef.

After leaving the professional kitchen to venture out on her own, Frances discovered gaining access to professional grade pastry products was very challenging, especially without a membership or wholesale account. She wanted to remedy that problem for other pastry chefs and enthusiasts in her position, so The Pastry Depot was born in 2017!

When Frances isn't at The Pastry Depot researching new products and supporting fellow pastry chefs, you can find her spending time in her garden or with her rescue horses Moose & Groot, donkeys Tiny & Bubbles, and sheep, Lambo. She absolutely adores animals and hopes to rescue more in the future.

Brenda Soto aka "Mom", Owner

Mom, aka Brenda, retired from the U.S. Army (Civil Service) in 2011. Not one to sit around for long, when she found out Frances, her daughter, wanted to open a small business, she jumped in headfirst to help. Mom LOVES pastries and is eager to learn more about the products and techniques used to make them. She certainly appreciates retired life but likes to stay busy helping everyone at The Pastry Depot. She also enjoys meeting all the local chefs and "Mom-ing" all of us, including our customers!

It's not uncommon to find her in the demo room, trying out something new, frosting & decorating a cake, or baking some traditional Puerto Rican quesitos or pastelillos de guayaba - pastries filled with cream cheese and guava paste. When she is not at The Pastry Depot, Mom loves cooking and spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.

Joannalee Hechtman

Joannalee started out as a Pastry Depot customer but soon joined The Pastry Depot team in 2021. She currently lives in Atlanta, but she has lived all around the world. Coming from a family with a strong military background, she was born in England and lived in South Korea until she was 21. She has been in the hospitality industry since she was 18 years old, holding many different positions until recently discovering her true passion when coming to the Pastry Depot - CHOCOLATE! Joanna graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta with a degree in Culinary Arts Management.

Joannalee has four children – two young humans and two maine coon cats! When not at the Pastry Depot, Joannalee can be found in the gym, at home spending time with her loved ones, or developing new chocolate creations.

Sara Durango

Sara joined The Pastry Depot in 2023 but has had a passion for culinary arts her entire life. As a proud veteran, she served four years in the Marine Corps in aviation operations, working with many different aircraft including FA-18s. After traveling around the world with the military, she decided to follow her heart and go to culinary school at the Art institute of Atlanta. Sara started out as strictly savory but working here at the Pastry Depot has started to bring her over to the sweet side. When Sara isn’t at work, she enjoys spending time with her Doberman Pinscher and experimenting with baking.

Stacey Greenwald

Stacey grew up in Metro Atlanta and has a degree in Culinary Arts Management from the Art Institute of Atlanta, where she quickly became friends with the future founder of The Pastry Depot, Frances. Stacey began working in the industry in 2005, spending the majority of her culinary career as a sous chef and banquet chef for W Hotels. After leaving the professional kitchen, she changed gears working as a digital project manager.

Stacey joined The Pastry Depot in 2018, using her mixed background to focus on eCom, marketing, and customer service. Though her culinary expertise is not pastry-specific, she enjoys expanding her knowledge learning about the innovative new pastry products and techniques. Stacey has also become our "resident bartender", developing beverage recipes to showcase the versatility of our purees and other products.

When not at The Pastry Depot, you can often find her spending time on house projects or her other passion: animal rescue. Stacey loves animals of all kinds, is a proud "dog mom" to her rescued pitbulls, Wilson, Dolly, and Oliver, and also keeps a growing “zoo” of reptiles.

Erin Martin

Erin joined The Pastry Depot in 2024. She is the first face you see at our retail store and has been a wonderful addition to our team! Erin originally went to school in Florida for Marine Biology but a job at the Georgia Aquarium brought her back to Atlanta. When she is not at work, she loves DIY projects and arts & crafts. Erin has a little girl and they love to cook and bake together. In addition to her human child, she is mom to many animals with scales, feathers, and fur! She has chickens, ducks, dogs, fish, and a bunny. Erin's ultimate goal for the future is to live homestead.