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Erin Kennedy, owner and baker of OMG OCPs
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OMG OCPs will offer about a dozen varieties of oatmeal cream pies, from the signature chocolate-dipped to cinnamon chip.
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OMG OCPs has a small dining room with a handful of tables.
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Kennedy says of her shop, “Everything in here is something that is personal to me.” The walls feature items from depictions of her dogs to art from Malawi.
For owner and oatmeal cream pie-maker Erin Kennedy, her forthcoming Shockoe Bottom bakery, OMG OCPs, is a very personal venture. Although there are many chapters to her story, the foundation of her soon-to-open business stems from a familial food memory. Growing up, Kennedy was incredibly close to her uncle and next-door neighbor, David, who was born with a brain tumor that caused developmental disabilities.
“When I was younger, … he and I had this shared love for the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies,” Kennedy says of her late uncle. “He was essentially more like my brother.”
Following David’s unexpected death while Kennedy was in high school, she says that every time she would spot the packaged snack, she was flooded with memories. “That was the one thing that reminded me of him,” she says.
Now, the sentimental hand-held treat has become the focus of her new business venture. Aiming to debut by the beginning of October and specializing in oatmeal cream pies, OMG OCPs will take over the former Cafe Beignet space at 3 N. 17th St.
A Richmond-area native, after attending Virginia Commonwealth University, Kennedy held a longtime position with the nonprofit Operation Smile, traveling across the world with lengthy stints in Africa. During her time abroad in her 20s, she says, she could never find Little Debbie snacks anywhere, but when she returned to Richmond nearly 10 years later, she found an oatmeal cream pie at a local dessert shop.
“It brought back all those memories, and I had never though about making it myself; it just put it in my mind,” she says.
When invited to a potluck, the nonbaker wanted to impress and turned to oatmeal cream pies. She says her first renditions were flat, spread out, yet quite delicious. Over the course of seven years, making the treats for parties, Christmas and weddings, Kennedy says, “It has become this recipe that I know like the back of my hand.”
It was also a recipe that people began to request, but Kennedy, sensing that she might be on to a sweet and successful something, kept it to herself. After leaving a job and considering her next move, she came back to the oatmeal cream pies.
“I asked my friends on Facebook, if I sold them, would they buy them?” she recalls.
She received over a dozen responses immediately, followed by request from a local PTA for nearly 100 that were individually packed, and shorty after, interest from a local market. In February 2022, Kennedy officially launched OMG OCPs, the name an ode to the expression that escapes from the mouths of first-time tasters.
“I wish I had a video of everyone who tried that first bite — [you see] a physical shoulder drop,” Kennedy says. “That’s where the name came from.”
After stocking her creations in Libbie and Union markets and continuously selling out, in addition to making an impression on the local event circuit, the idea of operating a brick-and-mortar business became less of a pipe dream and more of a promising possibility.
“I thought, maybe this is a thing, and since then, it just has been,” she says.
Upon opening, OMG OCPs will feature a display case stocked with rows of the round confections, sold individually or by the dozen. Served cool like an ice cream sandwich, the house-baked oatmeal cookies are filled with a fluffy schmear of cream cheese frosting, rather than marshmallow. Kennedy says guests can always expect a lineup of 10 original options, including a few gluten-free varieties. Signature flavors include original, chocolate-dipped, cinnamon chip, oatmeal raisin and sweet heat (made with AR’s Hot Southern Honey). Rotating and seasonal selections will likely include orange-chocolate-sea salt, pumpkin spice, caramel-apple and coffee.
The bakery plans to serve Bugle Call Coffee from New Kent County, with Ninja Kombucha and Owl Spoon Water Kefir Co. beverages on tap. Kennedy says she hopes to also partner with Soar365, a Richmond nonprofit where her uncle used to work that offers a wide range of programs to provide support for those living with disabilities. Having previously worked with ReEstablish Richmond, she also hopes to provide a safe space for refugees to find employment as well.
“All that stuff, it’s just innately in me, so being able to be a safe space really for everyone, I think it’s as important for the community,” she says.
As for starting OMG OCPs, “I really didn’t think it would happen, I had $300 to my name,” Kennedy says. “I feel so confident and excited about this, the same way I felt when I was leaving to go move to South Africa, this is what I’ve been looking for; never did I think I would find it in cookies.”
While the hours at OMG OCPs are still to be determined, Kennedy says she is aiming to open from 7 to 9 a.m. and from 3:30 to 8 p.m.
