Toren Halseth - From Craigslist to a Cupcake Franchise

Craigslist has become a household name as the popular website’s innovation toward the newspaper classified has propelled interaction online. Whether you are looking to buy a car, find that retro record player or get a job, millions flock to the site daily. For one ambitious chef to be, it turned him into a champion. After graduating culinary school, Toren Halseth bounced around doing everything from being a line cook, catering and working as a private chef. He decided to check out the opportunities on Craigslist and saw an advertisement to be a part-time baker for a small shop named Sweet Arleen's. Sweet Arleen’s was founded by banker-turned-baker, Arleen Scavone, and the process began in Westlake Village, California in 2008. As a self-made woman, Scavone worked her way up the banking industry but drew from her childhood experience to open a bakery. Working on recipes she remembered working on as a child baking with her mother, Scavone perfected her signature bread puddings and cupcakes. Halseth was hired during the early stages of Sweet Arleen’s and worked his way up to become front-of-house manager. As the business continued to grow, Sweet Arleen’s got their chance for national recognition in the form of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. Not only did the young bakery garner national attention –they won not once, not twice, but three times. Sweet Arleen’s is the only bakery in the history of the show to be a three-time champion, and Halseth was there representing the brand for the third victory. “When I represented the company and won on the third Cupcake Wars as an assistant, it proved the strength of the product,” Halseth said. “Hearing that one of our cupcakes was rated as one of the Top Ten best cupcakes on Cupcake Wars by Florian Bellanger, judge on the show, was just unbelievable.” After proving they are a force to be reckoned with, Scavone started looking into expanding her established brand by way of franchising last year. Halseth, having grown with the brand and experiencing the thrill of winning Cupcake Wars, was an easy choice to be the first franchisee. “The company and product was something I grew with,” Halseth said. “The quality of the product and the made-from-scratch recipes deliver an outstanding customer experience.” Halseth’s story started with a Craigslist ad, meandered into a TV shot at championship fame and flowed into a young entrepreneur opening his own business. His story could not have happened if it wasn’t for the banker turned baker, Sweet Arleen herself. “The corporate team at a franchise company also provides significant training, support and guidance,” Halseth said. “Having a strong team of family, friends and Arleen herself surrounding me with great advice and strategy is the key to my success.” Halseth will be the proud owner of Sweet Arleen’s in his wife’s hometown of Yorba Linda, California.