For many North Carolinians, the holiday season is all about gathering around the table with the people we love, and often sweet treats are part of what we look forward to year after year. For folks with food allergies or dietary restrictions, that sense of togetherness can be complicated. Feeling “included” at the table isn’t always guaranteed.
At JP’s Pastry, inclusion isn’t just part of the mission. It’s the reason the business exists. JP’s Pastry set out from the beginning to offer gluten-free baked goods, ensuring that no one with gluten intolerance ever felt left out. When Joe Parker (“JP”) started JP’s Pastry in 2012, he was driven by his own background with dietary restrictions. He grew up with a severe gluten allergy. While his friends enjoyed pizza parties and birthday cakes, Parker watched from the sidelines with what he calls on the business website “a near empty plate.” Years later, after becoming a dentist, he heard similar stories from patients, so he became determined to create gluten-free foods that tasted every bit as good as the classics he grew up missing.
He trained at the renowned San Francisco Baking Institute, then took that knowledge home to North Carolina and into his own kitchen. (As a food business operating in a home kitchen, he followed the home-based food business regulations enforced by the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.) Co-founder and co-owner Izcander Flores remembers that beginning well.
“It actually started out of Joe’s house in Raleigh,” he said. “As it started to get a little bit bigger, it moved to Benson towards the end of 2015. From there it’s just seen organic growth. Initially, it was primarily a wholesale business model. Then we opened a small little retail area within the Benson facility. Then finally, in 2024 we opened our first retail location outside of Benson, which was in Greenville. So that’s been open for a little over a year now, and then in May of 2025 we opened a location in Raleigh.”
They hope to open a location in Durham in early 2026. Even as JP Pastry has expanded, it’s held tightly to a mission rooted in accessibility, inclusion and uncompromising gluten-free safety. Flores explained that it wasn’t long before they realized having a mixed bakery of traditional and gluten-free products wasn’t the way to go if they wanted to ensure offerings were totally gluten free.
“You can’t really, truly have gluten-free in a way that can be produced safely for people that are very severely allergic and very, very sensitive,” he said. “Flour dust is gonna end up in places that may not be obvious, so it’s just really hard to be able to do both.”
So the team chose a single path and committed to it wholeheartedly.
“We decided to pursue a gluten free certification. So we’re fully certified by GIG [the Gluten Intolerance Group], just to give it that extra layer of comforting people and sense that we are serious about ensuring that what we do is gluten free,” Flores said. “Our commitment is for those folks who really, really need gluten-free. We have that commitment to making sure that we are taking every precaution to ensure that everything that we make is gluten free.
“It certainly is an honor and a privilege to have that opportunity. Our mission is to make sure everyone has a place at the table – feels included.”
From its early days in a home kitchen to its current facilities, JP Pastry has maintained strong ties to North Carolina agriculture. The business is a member of Got to Be NC, the department’s marketing program that highlights products grown, raised, caught or made in the state. They incorporate local ingredients whenever possible.
“We try to source local ingredients as much as we can,” Flores said. “For Thanksgiving, we did a lot of products with North Carolina sweet potatoes. We try to source blueberries from Bladen County, and then there’s also other things like strawberries from local farmers markets to use seasonally.”
While JP Pastry has become known for its Benson, Greenville and Raleigh storefronts, many customers first discover the company through its wholesale partnerships.
“Our biggest customer is Whole Foods Market,” Flores said. “You can find our products in every Whole Foods Market store from North Carolina to Florida.”
You might also be eating JP Pastry products at Weaver Street Market, local co-ops, college cafeterias, hospitals, restaurants across the state and even high-end dining spots.
“[For example,] Heron’s, which is a very high end restaurant [at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary], uses our hamburger buns,” he said.
Sweet Christmas traditions — and treats that only come once a year
Every holiday season, JP Pastry creates a special Christmas menu filled with treats that only appear this time of year. Some of them are labor-intensive favorites that customers wait for all year.
“For the major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, we generally will publish a menu,” Flores said. “A lot of what you will find around the Christmas or holiday menu is going to be things that we may not always make.”
Some of the holiday standouts include:
🎄 Red Velvet Monkey Bread – a labor-intensive fan favorite that only makes an appearance during the holidays.
🎄 Seasonal Cheesecakes – larger desserts perfect for family gatherings.
🎄 Gingerbread classics – including gingerbread waffles.
🎄 Eggnog treats – for those who love the nostalgic flavor.
🎄 White Chocolate Peppermint Sweet Rolls – brand new this year, made with the bakery’s perfected sweet-roll dough, filled with white chocolate and peppermint for a festive twist.
🎄 Christmas Tree–Shaped Red Velvet Cakes – a cute and popular seasonal addition.
Flores said the new white chocolate peppermint sweet rolls are based of of one of their best sellers – their Hawaiian sweet rolls. They added to that base to create cinnamon rolls and then added a twist to create something that could be on its way to being a Christmas hit.
“We have created what I believe is a really good product,” Flores said. “It’s a nice soft, soft dough, very ooey gooey, with the cinnamon and then the classic cream cheese glaze on it. So for the holidays we decided to try a white chocolate peppermint – adding in that white chocolate flavor, peppermint flavor. We did them for the first time this week. We’re still waiting to get feedback and see how people are enjoying them. We’re hoping to continue to make them for the holiday season in December, but it’s definitely a new product, and we’re just seeing how it is received.”
More than sweets: comforting meals for the holidays
While pastries and breads are the heart of the business, JP Pastry also offers savory options during the holidays.They produce items like their popular family-sized lasagna, available on the Christmas menu.
“We find that people sometimes need not just breads and pastries, but also some meal options, and so we do make a few of those,” Flores said.
Because their storefronts are currently in the eastern part of the state, JP Pastry makes it easier for North Carolina customers to enjoy their products without traveling. Orders of $75 or more qualify for free shipping within North Carolina.
Whether it’s a tray of red velvet monkey bread placed at the center of a family table or a cinnamon roll enjoyed on a quiet December morning, JP Pastry aims to make the season sweeter – and more inclusive – for everyone. Since there are lots of different options, Flores said he hopes people will find their own favorite and make it part of their Christmas year after year.
“I would just say, there’s something for everyone,” Flores said. “So just come in and find something new.”
