Shoppers who head into the Market at Liberty Place on Nov. 28 — Small Business Saturday — can follow the smells of Sweet Magnolia to discover what one of Kennett Square’s newest small businesses has to offer.

Small Business Saturday is a promotion by American Express that encourages shoppers to patronize small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Sweet Magnolia Bakery opened during the annual Mushroom Festival in September and has been tempting visitors to the Market ever since with the smells of freshly baked cheesecakes, cakes and confections.

“I’ve always wanted a bakery,” said Sweet Magnolia owner Diane Simmons, 60, who has started her dream business at a time when many of her friends are thinking about retirement.

“My father keeps saying, ‘Why are you starting a business at 60?’” the longtime baker said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Larry Bosley, president and founder of LGB Properties, which owns and manages the Market at Liberty Place, said Simmons’ bakery was the perfect addition to the eight other businesses in the marketplace.

“I’m really excited to have Diane here,” he said. “The community has accepted her, and her business has grown tremendously.”

The addition of a bakery is another step toward making the Market at Liberty Place more than just a food court.

“We are a market place and a gathering place,” Bosley said.

On a recent Wednesday, Simmons pulled from the oven a pan of bacon chocolate-chip cheesecake bars, a new creation, and she walked it over to a table where three customers were waiting. The great thing about having her own business, she explained, is that she can experiment with different tastes and flavors.

The result, she hopes, is happiness in each bite.

“I’ve been amazed at the people who come and the people who come back,” she said.

While she doesn’t sell whole cakes and cheesecakes at the shop, customers can order them in advance. Otherwise, those who come to Sweet Magnolia can buy the cakes and cheesecakes by the slice.

Her creations include cheesecakes featuring Nutella, peanut butter chocolate chip, pecan pie, red velvet, malted milk balls, blueberries, and more. She also makes homemade malted milk ball fudge, among other kinds; a chocolate chip cheeseball; and rolled baklava, a Greek dessert.

Everything about Sweet Magnolia Bakery has meaning to Simmons. The name, for instance, refers to the large magnolia tree that grows between her parents and her aunt and uncle’s house in Charleston, S.C. Her son-in-law, Josh Knowland, added the “sweet” moniker because of the sweet nature of Simmons’ business.

The coconut cake Simmons makes is from her mother’s recipe, and the baklava represents her grandfather’s Greek heritage.

Her family also steps in to help at Sweet Magnolia. Her husband, Jim, can often be found there when he is not traveling to Iowa for the DuPont Co. Her two daughters who live in North Carolina with their families, and her son and his family in Utah, offer support and help when they visit.

“The kids are very happy about it and very supportive,” Simmons said.

Growing up, and in the many places she has lived with her husband and family, Simmons was known for her Christmas dessert parties and her confectionary creations. At Sweet Magnolia in Kennett, the bakery is her public showcase.

“This is just my little corner of the world,” she said. “Kennett has just been wonderful to us.”

Sweet Magnolia is open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.

For more information, go online at www.sweetmagnoliabakerypa.com.