Made with Love
Five Generations. One Handwritten Recipe.
In the 1940s, Memphis, Tennessee, was home to the renowned John Gerber Department Store. The original John Gerber & Co. opened its doors in 1880 at 25 North Main Street, across from the courthouse. Known for its quality merchandise and elegant shopping experience, the store featured distinctive departments, including a ladies’ glove department and a charming tearoom. For generations of Memphians, Gerber’s was more than a department store - it was a treasured part of the city’s downtown culture and social life.
Women from surrounding towns made the drive to Memphis for a day of shopping and, of course, luncheon in the beautiful tearoom, and one unforgettable dessert - a slice of cheesecake from Gerber's Tea Room. My grandmother was one of those women, and when she was fortunate enough to get the recipe, she carefully copied it in her own handwriting.
It was during this era that my family’s beloved cheesecake became part of the Gerber’s story. The recipe came from Gerber’s and was passed down through my family for five generations. The connection is preserved in my grandmother’s own handwriting – a treasured handwritten note identifying the recipe’s Gerber’s origin. That little piece of family history has become one of my most cherished possessions because it connects a beloved dessert to a very specific time and place in Memphis history.
For my family, the recipe was never simply a list of ingredients and instructions. It was something to be shared, remembered, and passed from one generation to the next. My grandmother preserved it, and subsequent generations continued making it, each adding their own memories while keeping the original recipe intact.
Today, I carry that tradition forward. When I make the cheesecake, I am not simply following an old recipe. I am recreating a small piece of my family’s history – and a taste of Memphis from another era.
Years later, my father, who worked with Sam Phillips of Sun Records, became Elvis Presley's first record promoter. After that, Sam moved our family to Nashville when we relocated for the music business. Along with our family came one very special treasure – that handwritten cheesecake recipe. Before long, my mother's cheesecake became a favorite among friends and visitors throughout Music Row. Mother was the first Director of the Country Music Hall of Fame and attended a Ladies Music Row Bible Study, where Jo Walker Meador of CMA and Francis Preston, BMI attended – and there was usually a holiday or birthday cheesecake there. She gave them as love gifts to her banking friends, neighbors, and business associates. I used to take them to the band on the Billy Ray Cyrus tour bus when they were playing in our town. He was a special friend of ours, especially my Mom’s.
Today, more than eighty years after that Memphis tradition began, the recipe remains exactly where it belongs - with family. My children have my grandmother's handwritten recipe and so do my grandchildren. Last Christmas, I gave each of them a spring form pan so they could continue the tradition. Watching the fifth generation learn to make the same cheesecake has been one of my life's greatest joys.
Every Q Delicious cheesecake is handcrafted from that same cherished family recipe. It's more than dessert – it's a tradition, a celebration, and a reminder that the sweetest memories are made when we gather around the table together.
Some recipes are handed down. This one carries a story.
From our family to yours... Welcome to Q Delicious.
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