Sheer Ambrosia
Address: 1749 South State Street, Suite 102
Telephone: 801-891-6242
Website: sheerambrosiabakery.com
District: Ballpark
“After everything, I needed a way to rebuild, something that could give me a fresh start. That’s what Sheer Ambrosia is for me - it’s my way of reinventing myself,” Rita Magalde said with a quiet determination as she shared her incredible story with me.
Born in Queens, New York, and raised in North Carolina, Rita’s life has been anything but ordinary. While in college, she embarked on a journey that took her across the globe - from summers spent in Ecuador to studying in Spain, where she met the man who would become her husband. After graduating with a double major in History and Spanish, Rita married and moved back to Spain. Within a brief time, she realized they could have a better future in the United States, “I didn’t care where we went. He’s a skier so that’s how we ended up in Salt Lake City in 1996.”
Together they launched a bilingual travel agency and ran it successfully for ten years. Six years into running the business, eight years into their marriage, Rita’s husband asked her for a divorce. She was 8 1/2 months pregnant with their daughter at the time, and their son was just three years old. “I was still in love with him. It was an incredibly difficult time, but I tried to stay strong for my kids.”
Even after the divorce, Rita remained business partners with her husband for four more years - a situation that was, as Rita put it, “not very much fun.” Eventually, she reached a breaking point. “I just wanted to start over. All the money in the world wouldn’t have made me happy. I didn’t want my marriage to end, and working with him every day was painful.” She told her husband that either he had to buy her out, or she would buy him out. Through a lengthy buyout process, Rita finally gained her freedom, and he got the travel agency. “In July of 2008, we closed the deal, and three months later, I started Sheer Ambrosia.”
Rita’s journey into the world of baklava might seem unlikely, but her story is rooted in memories of her childhood and her passion for baking. “I don’t come from a culture that makes baklava, but in high school, I worked for a Greek family. I used to babysit their four little boys, and I learned to make all kinds of wonderful Greek things in their home. Baklava was my favorite.”
She described her love for baklava as an art form - “an edible art.” Drawing from her mother’s Southern roots and her own experiences in Europe, she began experimenting with traditional recipes. “My mom was an excellent baker, and she’d make these amazing pies with whatever fruit was in season. I took that same love for seasonal ingredients and started incorporating them into my baklava.”
From classic Southern pecan pie-inspired baklava to creations infused with apples, peaches, and blackberries, Rita’s confections have become a unique fusion of flavors. “I wanted something that was moist yet crispy, with lots of flaky layers. Everything I make uses real ingredients - real butter, real honey. I’ve even created a butterscotch walnut baklava inspired by my grandmother, who always had butterscotch candies on hand.”
As she reflected on the emotional significance of her work, Rita admitted that “This business saved my life. After my divorce, I was depressed, inconsolable, and I felt like a failure. But Sheer Ambrosia gave me something to focus on, a way to rebuild. It’s not just about making baklava - it’s about creating something beautiful out of the pain I went through.”
Despite her success, Rita has faced her share of challenges. She started Sheer Ambrosia from home in 2008, working under the Department of Agriculture’s cottage food program. In 2013, she ventured out and built her first commercial space, but after a few years, she decided to sell it and return to working from home, having learned a lot from that experience. In 2023, Rita embarked on a new chapter. She began the build-out of her current bakery space, a project that tested her perseverance once again. “I started construction in June of 2023, and it was supposed to be finished by October, but delays pushed it back. By the time Christmas came around, I had to put the construction aside to focus on the busiest season of the year.” It was not until January of 2024 that Rita finally received the certificate of occupancy for her new space. And then two days later, she started the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, which provides education and other support services for small business entrepreneurs. “It was exhausting, but it helped me create a growth plan for my business. My focus now is on corporate gifting - something I’m really excited about.”
Rita’s story is one of resilience, passion, and reinvention. She turned her heartbreak into a thriving business, and through Sheer Ambrosia, she continues to share a piece of herself with every bite. “For me, baking is a way to show love, and I put my heart into everything I make.” Incredibly inspired by Rita’s journey, I sat down and read the book that she self-published back in 2016, From Mrs. to Ms. What a journey, what a magnificent woman.
