For 25 years, Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies, founded in Memphis, Tennessee, has built its reputation on a simple promise: scratch-made cookies, baked fresh with 100% pure butter, delivered with consistency and care.
Founded in 1999, Makeda’s was named in honor of the Hills’ niece, Makeda, who died from leukemia at the age of six. Today, the bakery offers more than 15 cookie flavors — led by its signature butter cookie — along with classic desserts like banana pudding, sweet potato pie, and lemon icebox pie made with butter cookie crusts.
Earlier this year, that promise reached its largest audience yet with the opening of Makeda’s third location in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area. The Sandy Springs store, located about 15 miles north of downtown Atlanta, marks a milestone for owners Pam and Maurice Hill — and reflects a journey defined by persistence and a long-term partnership with the Entrepreneurship Team at Communities Unlimited (CU).
A Decade-Long Partnership
CU has worked alongside Makeda’s since 2015, supporting the Memphis-based bakery through nearly every stage of its evolution. Over that decade, the business has grown from a single neighborhood bakery into a multi-location operation, roughly quadrupling annual revenue along the way.
Today, Makeda’s products are sold in approximately 55 grocery stores across the Mid-South, shipped nationwide through its website, and produced through a centralized manufacturing operation.
When CU Director of Entrepreneurship Cynthia Terry first connected with the Hills, expansion was not the immediate goal. Early work focused on strengthening the foundation of the business — organizing financial records, improving accounting systems, and building internal controls that would support long-term sustainability. CU also helped Makeda’s open a second location in downtown Memphis.
Just as important as the technical assistance, Pam Hill said, was confidence.
“One of the biggest things CU has given us is belief,” she said. “People who believe in us, hype us up, and encourage us to keep going. That matters.”
Building Capacity to Scale
As demand increased, Makeda’s reached a pivotal moment. In 2020, CU Area Director Marnell Love began working closely with the business as the Hills made a significant operational shift — transitioning from a traditional downtown storefront to what they now call a “storefront factory” model in downtown Memphis.
The facility allows Makeda’s to consolidate large-scale production while still serving walk-in customers, creating the capacity needed to expand wholesale relationships without sacrificing quality.
With support from CU’s Entrepreneurship Team, Makeda’s invested in automation, upgraded processing and packaging systems, and purchased large walk-in ovens and other commercial equipment. CU staff also accompanied the Hills to early meetings with Kroger, helping them step confidently into wholesale conversations that once felt out of reach.
Those efforts ultimately led to Makeda’s products moving into Kroger’s warehouse system — opening the door to demand across thousands of store locations nationwide and accelerating the company’s need to scale production even further.
Pricing was another critical hurdle. Unsure how to price cookies for grocery shelves, the Hills leaned on CU’s expertise. Love recommended a roughly 10% price increase — a move that initially felt risky but ultimately strengthened margins without disrupting demand.
“We hadn’t gone to business school,” Pam said. “So learning how to price based on the market was huge. That made a difference in us making a little more money.”
Navigating Challenges — Together
Like many small businesses, Makeda’s faced its greatest test during the COVID-19 pandemic. As operations were threatened, CU helped the business secure emergency relief funding, allowing Makeda’s to remain open and retain staff during an uncertain period.
“We’ve been through a lot,” Pam said. “But we decided we couldn’t let that stop us.”
CU remained engaged beyond crisis response, continuing to work with the Hills on long-term planning as operating conditions evolved.
A Calculated Expansion into Atlanta
The idea for Makeda’s third location emerged close to home. Pam and Maurice’s daughter, Raven Winton, had moved to the Atlanta area and noticed a steady stream of customers traveling from Georgia to Makeda’s Memphis locations.
“We wanted to tap into something new and try something different,” Maurice said. “We wanted to take a risk.”
“Entrepreneurship is all about taking a risk,” Pam added. “You have to be brave. Having my spouse by my side helps me be braver. We talk things through, and we just said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Before committing to the expansion, CU’s Entrepreneurship Team conducted a full financial analysis outlining revenue targets, operating costs, and performance benchmarks needed for the location to succeed. Only after reviewing those projections did the Hills move forward with signing a five-year lease and purchasing equipment.
The Sandy Springs location opened in early January 2026.
“We’re excited because Atlanta is a big city,” Maurice said. “We’ve got an excellent product, and we’re looking forward to growing leaps and bounds within this first year.”
Preparing for the Next Stage of Growth
As wholesale demand continues to grow — particularly through national distribution channels — Makeda’s is now planning its next step: expanding from its current factory into a larger production facility in Memphis.
The company’s existing space has served them well, but increased volume will require additional room for production, warehousing, staffing, and automation. With support from CU, recent engagement has focused on developing a five-year strategic plan, including financial projections, facility planning, and funding strategies to support that transition.
CU is also assisting Makeda’s as it explores future retail growth and potential franchise expansion into other states — ensuring that quality, consistency, and internal controls remain at the center of every decision.
“Makeda’s Cookies has grown substantially since we started working with them in 2015. We’ve provided the consulting services they needed at each stage. The quality of the cookies speaks for itself. They’ve built a loyal following, and that market continues to grow. It's been a pleasure helping them grow and sustain the business.”
— Marnell Love, Communities Unlimited
A Vision That Keeps Expanding
Long before Makeda’s opened its doors in Atlanta, the idea was already taking shape — not in a business plan, but on a vision board. Inside the bakery, a hand-drawn globe slowly filled with stickers, each one representing a place the Hills believed their cookies could reach.
“Our goal is to get our cookies out everywhere,” Pam said. “We don’t have to go everywhere ourselves, but the product can travel.”
That mindset has guided recent decisions, from leaning further into wholesale and online ordering to preparing for a larger production footprint that can support continued growth.
Looking ahead, the Hills remain grounded in what has carried them this far: faith, resilience, smart risk-taking, and trusted partners who have stood with them through both challenges and milestones.
“It’s always good to have people around you who know more than you do and want to see you succeed,” Maurice said.
“Communities Unlimited has been a major part of our growth. As long as they keep pushing opportunities and ideas our way, we’ll keep growing.”
— Pam Hill, Makeda’s Cookies
