ASHTON — On Saturday, a grand opening and ribbon cutting were held for CheeseKake Ko. at its new storefront location at 906 Main St. in Ashton.

The business makes homemade cheesecakes and is owned by Katelyn Glavac, Tina Adams and Keri Creason. CheeseKake Ko. has grown from a shared space at Flight Deck Bar & Grill to its own location in Ashton. The business works with a number of local restaurants and stores that carry their products. The new location’s hours will be Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Speakers at the ribbon cutting included Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tricia Herrera, Rochelle Mayor John Bearrows and Village of Ashton Clerk Katie Koks. 

Herrera thanked those that attended the ribbon cutting and grand opening and said she was happy to celebrate the growth of a long time chamber member in CheeseKake Ko.

“We have been very fortunate to be in the know with these ladies for quite some time,” Herrera said. “They've been members of the chamber since they started out when they were using a shared space at Flight Deck Bar & Grill and then they started the process of looking for their very own spot. We're always really excited to celebrate with businesses like that because that's such a great day. There's nothing better than that, when you find that location and you know it's your own space and you can set it up your own way. They are our reigning Chamber Business of the Year. We're very excited to celebrate that with them. We're very proud of you girls for the amount of work and determination it takes to do something like this and become a household name in the area.”

Koks welcomed CheeseKake Ko. on behalf of the Village of Ashton and Bearrows was on hand as well to celebrate the longtime Rochelle-area business. 

“The city council and myself and the city manager believe in the idea of regional growth,” Bearrows said. “This is a classic example of regional growth. If a part of our region does well, it makes all of us look well. I thank you for being here and for being part of the chamber. You now have extra partners in the chamber, the city and the Village of Ashton on your side.”

Creason thanked the community for its support on Saturday. 

“We just want to thank everyone for being here,” Creason said. “It means a lot to us. We've been dreaming about this for the past three years and we're so happy to be here.”