(Photo from Paul’s Pastry Shop)
- Every year, Paul’s Pastry Shop receives orders from all over the country, including North Pole, Alaska—proof that even the coldest corners of the country could use a little Mississippi warmth, preferably wrapped in icing and sprinkles.
The smell hits you first—warm butter, sugar, yeast. By Mardi Gras, king cakes with a beloved label fill homes across Mississippi: Paul’s Pastry Shop.
The story starts in 1970: a dream between two parents, and an 800-square-foot bakery downtown. One mixer. Two tables. All built on faith and hard work.
“My family transferred here with my dad’s job in 1964—he worked for Stennis Space Center,” shared Sherri Thigpen, owner of Paul’s Pastry. “My mom and dad wanted to open a small, local bakery. They borrowed $3,500 from my grandpa and started their American dream.”
Like most success stories, it didn’t happen overnight. Over the following years, Paul’s Pastry grew steadily, built on long hours, loyal customers, and perfected recipes. The bakery expanded twice before Sherri purchased the business from her parents in 1988. The next year, in 1989, they opened a second 5,500-square-foot location that served the community until 2005, when the family purchased a 10,000-square-foot shopping center.
However, in 2005, shortly after that major expansion, Katrina hit.
Paul’s Pastry faced loss and uncertainty after Katrina. By October 2006, the ovens were back on—a testament to Mississippi’s resilience.
This October, Paul’s Pastry will celebrate 56 years in business.
Trademarked as “The Home of the Original Cream Cheese and Fruit-Filled King Cake,” Paul’s Pastry Shop is a full retail bakery that offers delicious cakes, cannoli, petit fours, pastries, and custom creations year-round.
“Seasons change, the cake decorations change—it keeps things fun and exciting,” Sherri said.
Still, Mardi Gras is when the bakery truly hums.
Paul’s Pastry sells king cakes year-round, but during Mardi Gras season alone, they produce approximately 70,000 king cakes, using an astonishing 21,000 pounds of cream cheese. Planning begins in October to make sure every order can be filled—because when king cake season arrives, Mississippi shows up hungry.
Step inside during Mardi Gras, and you feel it immediately. Rows of golden-brown cakes cool on racks, air rich with butter and sugar. Thick ribbons of cream cheese swirl into sweet bread. Purple, green, and gold sugars sparkle. Boxes stack high. Laughter echoes from the back. It’s busy—in the best way.
And when it comes to where their king cakes travel, far really does mean far.
Every year, Paul’s Pastry Shop receives orders from all over the country, including North Pole, Alaska—proof that even the coldest corners of the country could use a little Mississippi warmth, preferably wrapped in icing and sprinkles.
So what’s the secret behind Paul’s Pastry’s beloved king cakes?
“We enjoy making a product people love,” Sherri said. “We use a sweet bread for the cake—it’s a family recipe. Our cream cheese is mixed and made from scratch, using good old-fashioned ingredients. No preservatives.”
That dedication—to quality, tradition, and doing things the right way—has created something increasingly rare: generational loyalty.
Paul’s Pastry is now a four-generation business, with family members and longtime employees—some third-generation—working together.
“We couldn’t do this without our family or our employees, and of course, our customers,” Sherri stated. “We love our community! Mississippi has supported us in such an incredible way over the past 56 years.”
Paul’s Pastry changed the game in 1972, as the first bakery to fill king cakes with fruit and cream cheese. Today, they are still innovating, offering new fillings and savory king cakes on Saturdays—proof that tradition evolves.
For me, though, the meaning of a Paul’s Pastry king cake is personal.
Shortly after my husband and I married, my in-laws sent a king cake to my Ohioan parents—a simple, Southern gesture of welcome. My parents loved it.
Who wouldn’t?
Because in Mississippi, a king cake isn’t just a dessert. It’s a table surrounded by people. It’s sticky fingers and sugar scattered across the box. It’s laughter in the background, music drifting through the room, and the shared understanding that the knife always stays right there in the cardboard box—because someone is absolutely going back for “just one more slice.”
And for so many of us, it’s Paul’s Pastry Shop.
More than a bakery. More than a king cake.
It’s a Mississippi story—still rising.
Meredith Biesinger
