Hi! I’m Christine Harkey, founder and baker at Rise in the East Bakery. While I wasn’t born in the Quad Cities, this is the place I consider myself to be from. I’ve lived in Bettendorf my whole life; besides the four years I spent in Denver, Colorado while attending college. I graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 2020 with an Associate Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts and a bachelor’s degree in food service management. With the start of the pandemic, I was essentially forced off campus, so I came home to finish my last trimester and figure out my next step. My whole childhood was spent helping my mom in the kitchen with whatever she was baking. When I was in middle school, I knew I had the desire and ambition to become an entrepreneur, so I figured why not combine the two! The idea for Rise in the East Bakery came about while I was in college learning about the fundamentals and the chemical compositions of all baked goods, but specifically bread. The most basic of breads are composed of flour, yeast, water, and salt. So why when you walk through the grocery store is the list of ingredients so long and so hard to pronounce? My goal with Rise in the East Bakery is to produce baked goods that taste good, and the consumer is familiar with every ingredient in them. With that being said, every item is made fresh to order, from scratch, without any preservatives or additives. I wouldn’t be where I am in my business without the help and support of my parents, my brother, and my husband, Michael. My mom helps with packing every order once I have made it. My dad is always there to talk business, guide me through new ideas, and take on manual labor. My brother (Levi Yocom Photography) is the mastermind behind every good-looking picture on my website and all over my social media. He makes my food look amazing! Michael is always there to motivate me and encourage me in everything I do, and he’s great at coming up with new product ideas. While this is technically my business, these four people are the backbone holding me up. We truly can’t do anything on our own!