For 11 years, Jill Shlesinger worked as the general manager of a Strip coffee shop, but that changed during the pandemic. Shlesinger thought she’d eventually head back to work, but the company sold seemingly overnight. Without any notice or severance pay, she says, she found herself completely and unexpectedly unemployed.
Jill Shlesinger
What happened next is even more unexpected. “The last thing I thought would happen is that I wouldn’t return to my career,” she explains.
The vintage-lifestyle enthusiast immediately turned to baking—specifically, learning how to bake treats she could eat while on a ketogenic diet.
“I’ve been cooking and was passionate about making people happy through my food for a long time,” Shlesinger says. When she couldn’t find anything in the store to satisfy her sweet tooth, she began experimenting in her own kitchen and giving away care packages full of her desserts.
With the support of one of her friends, Shlesinger decided to start her own bakery, Starburst Parlor, which specializes in keto-friendly foods.
“I didn’t want anyone’s pity or to feel bad for me,” Shlesinger says about her work situation. “Everyone was going through something similar.” It wasn’t until Shlesinger told her friend what happened that she found the motivation to open her own shop. “When I left her house that day, I was like, OK, this is what you’re going to do.”
Shlesinger signed a lease for a building off Charleston and Rancho in August, and the build-out should be completed by March, she says. In the meantime, she bakes her keto treats—bagels, cookies, cheesecakes and more—in a commissary kitchen and takes orders on her website, starburstparlor.com. An assortment of her desserts are also available at all Mothership Coffee locations and at Sunrise Coffee on Sunset Road.
As for the menu, it’s continuously growing and evolving. “I’m always looking for something new and exciting,” Shlesinger says. “Most of my creations are client-inspired, and that’s the most exciting thing for me—that I could make something they’ve been missing in their life.”
