A bit of everything

Julie Anne's owner bases business on her favorite markets

When Southern Highlands resident Julie Anne Hession decided to follow her passion, she found herself in the kitchen of a gourmet market in Anthem.

Opening the day after Thanksgiving, Julie Anne's Bakery, Cafe and Fine Foods came to be when Hession combined the gourmet markets and delis she fell in love with on the East Coast with the western city she already loved.

Hession first came to the Las Vegas Valley in 1992, as a student at UNLV's College of Hotel Administration. She left the area in 2000 to pursue a master's degree in business at Duke University in North Carolina before returning to the valley in 2002.

Hession said she always wanted to open her own restaurant and was inspired by East Coast gourmet market/restaurants like Dean & Deluca, and particularly Foster's Market.

"Gourmet foods and cooking and restaurants -- that's always been my passion," she said. "It's always made me so happy. I knew it was what I wanted to do for a living."

After returning to the area, Hession noticed that aside from Williams Sonoma and Whole Foods Market, there weren't a lot of gourmet grocery stores or delis. So she decided to open her own shop, and to take things one step further with regional specialty items.

To decide which items to stock, Hession did research around the valley to figure out which things aren't being offered anywhere else.

"Everyone here is from somewhere else," she said. "So I decided to introduce a lot of regional types of things. I carry things from Nantucket Island, Washington, Texas, New York, Virginia -- I was looking for items that are unique, but will also appeal to people."

Hession said many aspects of her store were influenced by Foster's Market, one of her favorite shops in North Carolina.

"While I was in school I would go to Foster's Market at least four times a week," she said. "I was there so often that I became friends with the owner, Sara Foster, and I asked her how she put her store together. She has become my mentor."

Hession carries a small selection of Foster's products and cookbooks, and even has one of Foster's menu items, the Thai Chicken Wrap, on her menu at Julie Anne's.

Meredith Cairns, manager of Julie Anne's, used to work for a small bakery and catering company and said her favorite aspect of the market is the variety it offers.

"Helping with everything, from making the brownies to putting together gift baskets and seeing all of the great products, has been great," she said. "And getting the local customer base -- it's great to be able to get to know your customers. Few places here have that with their customers."

All of the baked goods at Julie Anne's are made from scratch daily except for breads, which Hession buys from Bon Bread in Las Vegas.

The market sells a selection of gourmet soups and salads daily, as well as two varieties of homemade soups, breakfast items on weekend mornings, and a new item called gourmet dinners-to-go.

"For the dinners-to-go, we offer a different entrèe and casserole each night of the week, Monday through Friday," she said. "And we do the same dinners each Monday and each Tuesday and so on for the entire month."

Hession and her employees also prepare muffins, cakes, pies and her signature item, the "best ever chocolate brownie," as well as homemade peanut brittle and requested items.

Hession said she also has adopted a strict "please sample" rule, which helps customers enjoy finding their purchases.

The market also sells gift baskets, and stocks them in unusual shapes, like the state of Nevada or a wagon.

"We have baskets here that are already put together, or people can have us create a special one according to budget, or they can create their own," she said.

Julie Anne's also caters and will assemble boxed breakfast or lunch platters.

Hession has started selling a few private label items, including peanut brittle, mixed nuts and granola, and hopes to eventually mass produce those items and use e-commerce to start shipping items like brownies and gift baskets across the country.

Julie Anne's is located at 10895 S. Eastern Ave. For more information, visit www.julieannes.com.