An entrepreneurial mom sells chocolate-dipped strawberries from a pink shop in Federal Hill

LaQuicha Brown, 44, didn’t need much convincing about the demand for chocolate-covered strawberries.

Less than a year after she started making the treat on special occasions for family and friends, requests started flowing in. There was even a time when she made orders in her kitchen during a snowstorm and hand-delivered them to customers in her “Berry Mobile,” a 2002 Toyota Sequoia.

“We started this business from scratch, from roots, and we’re willing to build it up,” Brown said.

In 2014, she opened Berries by Quicha at a stall in the Best Western Plus Hotel in industrial Canton that’s home to the Baltimore Comedy Factory. Brown opened her first — very pink — storefront on Light Street in Federal Hill several years later. Her business also had a kiosk in Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport before the coronavirus pandemic.

Berries by Quicha offers berries dipped in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. Some have gourmet toppings such as Snickers, strawberry crumble or pretzel. Brown also makes boozy berries and takes custom orders.

Brown keeps the shop family-oriented, with relatives either working at the business or visiting often. Though her daughter, a sophomore at Morgan State University, has no plans to take over, she thinks the small business has longevity.

“I would expand,” Kamaria Brown said. " I feel like more people should know who Berries by Quicha is."

LaQuicha Brown’s Light Street location is her only full-service spot, but she deters from calling it her “main shop.”

Her stall at the Best Western, which is only open a few days out of the week, is a testament to how far she has come. And she has ambitions to meld her sweets shops with a nonprofit for young people that she recently founded.

What’s something that you wish people knew about this industry?

One thing I can say is I think that you should focus more on the good days than bad days. Anything that you give your attention to and your mind to, it’ll have your heart. I feel like if I’m giving my attention to the good days, it has my heart.

It can be slow, but I’m not stressed because I know that God has made me a promise.

What’s your next big ambition?

My next biggest ambition would be to somehow incorporate Berries by Quicha with my nonprofit, At Granny’s House. Granny’s House specializes in helping the youth transition from dependency to independency. That is what’s on my heart, in addition to berries. I’m not letting berries go. Berries is the right and Granny’s House is the left. For some reason, I just see them merging. I have a lot of me to give and so I’m ready and willing and able to give that side for the community.

How would you describe a day of business at Berries by Quicha?

We have someone come in and she dips, and I am all custom orders. She does all of the berries for the shop, and then she’ll leave before we open. Then my cousin Joyce comes in, and she runs the shop unless she needs time off. I’m here every Wednesday.

What is your favorite part of the day?

I think the mornings. It’s quiet. I feel God’s presence more in the morning when it’s just him and I. She can attest. [Nods at Joyce.] She always know when I’m in here because the gospel music is on blast.

What are challenges to having a small business in Baltimore?

I guess like any business, [there are] ups and downs, but I wouldn’t even consider that as a challenge. I would just consider this part of the process because even businesses worth millions of dollars, they still have a slow period. I honestly wouldn’t imagine having a business anywhere besides Baltimore. I love that Baltimore embraces the diversity in small businesses and the support that we get.

What do you think is the appeal of having your business on Light Street?

It’s so pink and it was a big deal because when we first moved down here — everything was brick. It was the traditional, historical district, so it looked as such. We went through a little something trying to make this building pink, but that is what made us stand out.

What advice do you have for people who want to start a small business?

If you’re always ready, you don’t have to get ready. That is the biggest thing.