Keegan Rogers’ Journey from Foster Care to Flour Power at the Lakehouse Bakery

Keegan Rogers, owner of Lakehouse Bakery, shares his inspiring journey from a difficult childhood and career setbacks to launching a popular local bakery on Sugarloaf Lake. Discover how baking helped him heal, and why now, more than ever, he needs community support.

Photo: Lakehouse Bakery Owner Keegan Rogers. Photo by Doug Marrin

In the cozy kitchen of Lakehouse Bakery, overlooking Sugarloaf Lake, Keegan Rogers is doing more than baking bread—he’s crafting a life rebuilt through resilience, community, and the quiet joy of fresh, honest food. What customers taste in his flaky croissants or tangy mango chai chicken salad sandwiches is more than culinary expertise. It’s decades of persistence, heartbreak, hope, and hard work.

“I grew up in downriver Detroit, a small community, tight-knit in the 70s,” Keegan recalls, painting a picture of childhood warmth disrupted by early hardship. “Mom and Dad divorced when I was three. If it weren’t for Granny, we probably wouldn’t have eaten.” In Granny’s kitchen, Keegan first discovered the magic of baking. “Every year at Christmas, we made chocolate chip cookies, spritz, pecan sandies, and date pinwheels. It was a really big deal. So that’s where my love for baking started.”

But childhood wasn’t just sugar cookies and spritz. By age 13, Keegan was placed in the state’s mental health system, battling depression and navigating foster care. “I moved out when I was 13. I was in the system through the Department of Mental Health.” Still, baking offered a refuge, a form of therapy, expression, and purpose.

Determined to become a pastry chef, Keegan set his sights on culinary school, only to be met with steep tuition fees and the realities of life post-foster care. Instead, he took jobs where he could, starting at Zehnder’s in Frankenmuth, working under a “typical French pastry chef” who hurled cream cartons in frustration. It didn’t dissuade him.

“I was still determined to do this,” Keegan says, and did, until Michigan’s struggling economy in the early 1990s prompted a move to Memphis, and eventually a long career at FedEx. Though the job had little to do with food, he found joy in logistics, airplanes, and the orderliness of the work. “That got me away from food, but I always kind of stayed in food, maybe not getting paid for it, but still doing it and still loving it.”

After a serious knee injury ended his FedEx career, Keegan spiraled into another low. “I hit a pretty big low, and not for the first time, attempted suicide. Thankfully, it didn’t happen, obviously.” That moment became a turning point. “I was like, ‘You know what? I want to bake. I want to go back to baking. I want to go back to what I love doing and what I know I’m good at.’”

From there, Keegan threw himself into rebuilding. He moved into his father’s basement, enrolled at Schoolcraft College, and juggled multiple jobs while excelling in pastry school. “Hard work has never been a problem. I just put my nose down and did it. Like, it’s got to get done, so I’ll just do it.”

After years of working and learning at places like Avalon Bakery, Cake Nouveau, and People’s Food Co-op, Keegan stumbled upon a property listing for a bakery space with a house attached, nestled on Sugarloaf Lake. Though initially scouted for the co-op, the space wasn’t viable for them. But for Keegan, it lingered.

Then fate intervened. “January of 2017, Granny passed away four days after her 98th birthday,” Keegan recalls. Two weeks later, FedEx offered him a pension buyout. With Granny in mind, he cashed in his pension and bought the bakery.

Keegan opened Lakehouse Bakery in January 2019. The business has grown steadily, with retail, catering, and wholesale clients across the region. “We have 12 wholesale customers now. We do catering. Catering is something I want to expand a lot more in, because our sandwiches are flipping amazing.”

Indeed, they are. The Garden Turkey, multigrain bread, garlic aioli, turkey, garden slaw, and horseradish cheddar is their bestseller. The Divine Swine, a pulled pork and apple slaw creation on a croissant, is Keegan’s favorite. “If you’ve never had a pulled pork sandwich on a croissant, you are missing out.”

Keegan remains committed to local sourcing. “We use all things that Granny would have used. Our ingredient list includes things like flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate. You absolutely taste everything.”

Still, sustaining a business in a rural location isn’t easy. Keegan is clear: “I need people to come shop with us. It’s great that they go to all the other places, but I need them to come here. I need catering jobs. I need people to think of us for a graduation, not just for the cake, but for the sandwiches that go with it.”

Lakehouse Bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with pizza nights one weekend a month during the summer. Visitors can enjoy their lunch on the patio, surrounded by gardens and the quiet serenity of Sugarloaf Lake.

Keegan’s journey is a reminder that healing, passion, and a pinch of courage can turn even the hardest beginnings into something nourishing. If you haven’t yet, consider stopping by the bakery, placing a catering order, or just treating yourself to something handmade with purpose.

Lakehouse Bakery is located at 1534 Sugarloaf Lake Rd, Chelsea, 48118. Phone (734) 306-3394

For more information, visit TheLakeouseBakery.Com