As a child, Patricia Barnes' sister could not pronounce her name. From this, her pseudonym Sister Schubert formed.
Growing up in Troy, Barnes would cook and bake with her mother and grandmother. It was in the kitchen of her family's home where she perfected the art of baking.
After three years of donating food to her church's holiday frozen food fair with exponential success, Barnes finally decided to make a business from her talents.
Today, her renowned business makes frozen foods, specifically homemade rolls.
Since its founding in 1992, Sister Schubert's Homemade Rolls has become a well-known distributer and producer of "melt-in-your-mouth-delicious rolls that go from freezer to table in minutes," according to the company's website.
Products of Sister Schubert's company include all kinds of handmade rolls. From dinner rolls to specialty sausage wrap rolls, sweet rolls and everything in between, Barnes and her company have been pleasing consumers for years.
The company is always making strides to please customers with new, delicious products.
When asked about new products for customers to anticipate, Barnes said jokingly, "Of course we're always looking for new items and products, but you know I can't give any of those away just yet."
While she enjoys success with her company, Sister Schubert's is only a small, specialized part of a larger corporation.
The Lancaster Colony Corporation subsidizes many companies, one of which is the T. Marzetti Company, its specialty food group.
Within the T. Marzetti Company are smaller family run businesses, such as Sister Schubert's, Pfeiffer and Chatham Village.
Barnes attended Auburn University from 1971-1973, saying it was "meant to be" for her to come here.
"My father attended Auburn, [and] my whole family attended Auburn," Barnes said. "It was almost like a meant-to-be thing for me. We love Auburn. Auburn is our home, and it's like family to us."
Her time at the University and her sorority, Kappa Delta, both played a major influence in her modern day success.
"I was a Kappa Delta at Auburn and my time with them taught me to love children, taught me to respect others and taught me to do all the things you're supposed to do to help people who are in need, such as the handicapped and the mentally disabled," Barnes said. "Those were the causes that the KD's undertook and still do to this very day. That was a big part of my college life at Auburn."
Barnes has taken the life lessons learned through Auburn, and specifically those learned from her time with the Kappa Delta sorority, and applied them to how she runs her company today.
"We care about our employees, and we want to have a great company that people both want to work for and enjoy working for," Barnes said.
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