Greetings Cookie Lovers! My name is Barbara Weniger and I'm the owner of the Lakota Bakery. In 1991 I bought a small wholesale cookie bakery that I had been managing under the old Chocolate Box store. I named it Lakota Bakery because I was born and raised in South Dakota and Dakota and Lakota are two tribes of Native Americans who live there. My mother always baked cookies at home and I was eager to learn how because I wanted to eat them, of course! It's true that I never planned on owning and operating a bakery myself and have no formal training but I know what makes a cookie taste great. I started with just a few recipes and a few wholesale accounts. When I began I had no idea if I could sell enough cookies to make a living but I discovered that everyone loves cookies, especially really good, fresh cookies. Every year the business grew and in 1997 I opened a retail store next door. The continuous increase in demand also enabled me to hire more and more people and I have a wonderful staff that loves to make and eat cookies just like me.