OAKLEAF — In a society where women are predominantly the ones by the oven, two men are aiming to turn that stigma around one cookie at a time.

John Odom and Albert Walker own Tough Guys Cookies and Sweets, a bakery on Hollyberry Lane. The shop is truly a sweet spot, offering cookies, pralines, peanut brittle, milkshakes, gummy bears, and more.

With tedious hands, the two work together, with a team of employees, to bake every cookie from scratch and defy the odds of an unspoken tradition.

“Everybody can bake,” Odom said. “It’s not just for women.”

Odom said his grandmother had taught him how to bake but never thought it would become his true calling. 

Working for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Odom said the corporate world was extremely stressful. And he needed something to relax.

Just for fun, he began baking cookies for his colleagues. But it wasn't what he expected. 

“I baked them, and they came out awful,” Odom said. “So, I felt defeated.” 

He didn’t let that stop him. It challenged him to do more. Odom said he decided to take it to the next level, buying more ingredients to practice. By the end of the morning, he perfected the recipe. 

The cookies were a hit at the office, and from there, his hobby became more than it was supposed to be.

2016 he began running the "Tough Guys Cookies" food truck. The name for his business came easily. He remembered a lady telling him in awe that a "little tough guy can bake." He decided to take that and run with it. 

“I took offense to that,” Odom said. “Yeah, I can bake.”

As the first “cookie truck” in Jacksonville, Odom said it was hard for the city to categorize him as they had never seen anything like it. 

“The closest thing was the funnel cake lady. She is the first one of her kind,” Odom said. “So, they mirrored me after her.” 

Traveling from stop to stop, Odom said he has brought his cookies to many areas. And the dream has only got bigger. 

“When I got my first order, I was hooked,” Odom said. “I felt like I had conquered the corporate world.” 

Walker said he joined Odom’s team in 2019. The two friends had known each other since their high school days. After talking, the two realized they had common ground regarding the goals they wanted to reach in life. 

Walker said it went from him just assisting to eventually helping to run the business as the co-owner.

“It went from a help thing to that’s my partner now,” Walker said.

In contrast to Odom, Walker said he had never been into baking until Tough Guys Cookies. He said he would hear Odom talking about how much of a stress reliever it was, but he didn’t realize until he started doing it himself. 

“You start to forget the worries of the world and your personal life,” Walker said. “And you come in here, and it's just like, ‘Well, I’m focused on putting some good cookies out.' And that's what you lock in with."

In 2021, the business officially moved into its brick-and-mortar location. Odom said his grandmother was able to come to witness it in person. 

“For her to come and see this means a lot to me,” Odom said. “Now my family knows I have a cookie store all the way to Buffalo, New York. So, it's a major accomplishment." 

They said the transition was different from traveling in a food truck, but all the same with the experience they want to bring to their customers.

Being in a stable location has given them the opportunity to see many of their customers change and grow over the years.

With the many flavors and recipes they have created, they said the strawberry and lemon cookies remain the most beloved desserts.

The bakers like to get creative and said they appreciate that the job gives them that opportunity.

“It far exceeds just cookies,” Odom said. “Because I got bored. I got all these recipes for cookies. And I was like, ‘OK, I got this down, so what’s next?’”

The two said they have many ideas for the business's future, including possible expansion. They currently still run their food truck, cater events, deliver locally, and even ship to places all around the country. 

They said there are no limits to where the business may take them.

“If you got the resources and you got life in your body — make it happen,” Walker said.

But for now, their focus is on making an impact on their community and showing that the art of baking is accessible to everyone.

“We feel like if you try it at least once, we got you for life,” Walker said.