HRC takes the (cheese)cake

BELLEVUE — Whenever a handyman would fix up items around her home, instead of forking over cash, Tenesha Hartley proposed an even sweeter deal. "I used to pay him in cheesecake," said Hartley, referring to her best friend's husband. His wife "would always tell me for years to sell them, and I would always think that no one would buy them." Hartley couldn't be more wrong, and happier, about what's since occurred. She recently opened HRC Cheesecakes, 119 E. Main St. (U.S. 20), in the heart of downtown Bellevue. "I've always liked eating and making them but not so much buying them myself," said Hartley, who lives in Bellevue. "So I thought why not just do this for a living?" While other local businesses do sell cheesecakes, to Hartley's knowledge, she's the only one primarily specializing in the dessert with an entire business centered around this concept. "I taught myself four years ago. I'm self-taught," said Hartley, who formerly owned Eagle Strong Nutrition in Monroeville. "Everything I do is homemade. I don't necessarily have recipes. I just make it up as I go. Anything you want, I can make it. I don't even have a menu: I have over 120 name tags with cheesecake flavors on it, and I've run out of name tags and need more." Some more popular flavors she's made in recent weeks include peanut butter featuring Reese's products, strawberry shortcake and lemon blueberry. "They are all made from scratch," said Hartley, noting many area restaurants — including Main Street Tavern in Huron, Bluto's Hometown Tavern in Norwalk along with The Club and Vine & Olive in Sandusky — sell her cheesecakes. People near and far have requested slices and whole pies from her. She also offers sampler packs in which 12 slices constituting one whole pie can feature a dozen different flavors. "We've delivered to Canada to Kentucky, and just last week, I sent six down to Florida for a wedding," said Hartley, a 2002 Perkins High School graduate. "We can also do online and walk-in orders for holidays, weddings and catering." Hartley welcomes people inside her shop, open from noon to 5 p.m. on weekdays and then from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. "If you like cheesecake, then stop on in," she said, noting people can search for the business name on Facebook for more information. What's in a name? Regarding the name HRC Cheesecake, those three beginning letters pay homage to her Tenesha Hartley's children: • "H" for Hunter • "R" for River • "C" for Calliope Among the other workers alongside Hartley: Claudia Diaz, Taylor Clift and Crystal Scheid. And, of course, "cheesecake" due to her business primarily specializing in the dessert.