APRIL 2016
H
business elite canada
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Carole soon moved into chocolate cake,
with a little help from her sister’s recipe.
In 1980, Ogus emerged with a signature
carrot cake topped with a cream cheese
topping — yet another pioneering move
for Carole in baking.
“People thought it was a health cake be-
cause it was made with carrots,” said Car-
ole. “Soon we were selling just as many
carrot cakes as we were cheesecakes.”
Despite the lack of formal training in busi-
ness and the culinary arts, Ogus’s com-
pany has been successfully operational
for over four decades. Throughout the ‘80s
Carole’s Cheesecake Company also grew
into 19 cafe franchises all over Ontario.
Carole’s husband, Michael, soon left his
architectural practice to help his wife keep
up with her burgeoning business.
“We work pretty well together. I do my
thing, he does his thing,” Ogus said. “He’s
the numbers guy and I’m the people per-
son.”
At the end of the 1980s Carole’s Cheese-
cake Company moved to their current lo-
cation — a larger facility that allowed the
“When I started doing this, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I’d be
where I am today. I just did what I did, and what I loved.”
