Pictured is Kelly Ausman, who opened her all natural, gluten-free bake shop Sweet Felicity at 311 W. Walnut St. on Oct. 31, 2016.

By Megan Alley
Sun staff

Pictured is Kelly Ausman, who opened her all natural, gluten-free bake shop Sweet Felicity at 311 W. Walnut St. on Oct. 31, 2016.By Megan AlleySun staff

There’s a new bake shop in the village of Felicity that specializes in offering all natural, 100 percent gluten-free treats.

Sweet Felicity opened at 311 W. Walnut St. on Oct. 31, 2016.

The shop is the passion project of owner and retired nurse Kelly Ausman, who “develops every product and personally chooses, tests and approves every ingredient for optimal flavor and texture,” according to Sweet Felicity’s Facebook page.

“The shop has been very well received,” Ausman said.

Ausman uses only naturally colored and flavored ingredients to make her bakery goods.

“I refuse to use anything artificial,” she explained.

Sweet Felicity carries cheesecake, grain-free granola, fudge brownies and low-carb donuts, amongst an array of other goodies.

The shop also carries healthy food options, such as soups, an after school salad made with dehydrated kale chips and pizza with an almond flour crust.

All the shop’s offerings are reasonably priced, with a daily lunch special priced at $8.

Ausman, who grew up on the west side of Cincinnati, has been whipping up healthy food alternatives her whole life.

“I won a baking contest at a church camp when I was seven years old,” she said.

About 20 years ago, she opened a shop similar to Sweet Felicity in the Eastgate area.

However, she closed it about a year and a half later to focus on her family and career.

She and her husband Dave, who shares duties around the shop, have four children.

Ausman went on to become a U.S. Army nurse and served from October 2006 to October 2015.

She and her family moved to Felicity in 1995. After she retired, Ausman began looking at business opportunities where she could use her skills with baking.

She also wanted to lean on the gluten-free aspect, as well as providing jobs and money to an area hit hard by heroin and other issues.

“I wanted to open the shop here because we like it out here,” she said. “I’ve had some people tell me that they’ve driven an hour to come to come here to visit the shop.”

Recently, Ausman teamed up with a wellness group to host its meetings and offer healthy eating alternatives.

She’s also planning to offer cooking classes for teens and intends to revamp the shop’s website so that she can offer online purchasing.

“My plan is to build on our internet sales,” she added.

Sweet Felicity is open from Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call the shop at 513-876-7600 or visit the shop’s Facebook page.