When renovations started last year on a historic building on Osage’s Main Street, only a few people in town knew what was opening up inside — and they weren't talking.

For months, the storefront windows were covered with white paper, only adding to the mystery. And like many small towns, the rumor mill in Osage started churning.

Jessica Goodale says she purposely kept her business a surprise, relying on the word-of-mouth chatter as early advertising.

When Goodale removed the white paper from the windows earlier this fall, Osage residents got their first peak inside their new hometown bakery. Colorful cheesecakes stand on display behind the shop windows, luring customers inside.

Goodale, a Farm Bureau member who started...