Say Cheesecake: Dunn business receives $5,000 through Lift-Off Lab

Baking helped Shoshona Heck cope following the loss of her grandfather. When she started her business, she named it in his honor: Richard’s Sweet Tooth & Special Occasions LLC.

Heck is now the recipient of a $5,000 grant through the Harnett Lift-Off Lab that will help the business continue to grow.

The Lift-Off Lab is an entrepreneur development program presented by the Central Carolina Community College Small Business Center, Harnett County, and the Angier, Lillington, Dunn, Erwin, and Coats Chambers of Commerce.

Heck was part of the Fall 2025 Lift-Off Lab cohort and was selected from that group as the winner of the award during the graduation ceremony for that cohort in late 2025. The grant requires that business owners open a brick-and-mortar location in Harnett County before receiving the funds. The check presentation followed the October 2026 grand opening of her bakery and store at 1203 W. Cumberland Street in Dunn.

Heck said participating in the Lift-Off Lab helped her realize the importance of writing down the business plan she’d had in mind.

“I learned strategy; I learned organization,” she said. “Everything just came together.”

Oct. 27, 2026

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