Home sweet home: ET’s Sweets brings home-baked goods to the pop-up shop

ET’s Sweets has built something of a cult following in the Lincoln area. Owner and founder Erin Odem fills a need for local residents whose diets require gluten-free and dairy-free foods. From kolaches to king cakes, she does it all — and to kick off 2026, she sold her treats out of the pop-up shop in Union Bank Place.

A Lincoln native, Erin was just the third pastry student to graduate from the Southeast Community College culinary program. By the time she started in the pop-up shop, she had accumulated 14 years of baking and catering experience, operating ET’s Sweets for nearly six of those years. You may notice the business’s logo features a ghost — that’s because it was started in 2020, when the pandemic turned once-bustling shopping centers into ghost towns seemingly overnight. Erin decided to make the best out of a bad situation by selling her own home-baked goods via porch drop-offs, offering customers a safe, contactless, and convenient (not to mention yummy!) experience.

As an alternative to the porch drop-off service, customers could also pick up their goods themselves, an arrangement Erin continued to offer through her time in the pop-up shop. On Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2 to 7 p.m., hungry customers flocked to the shed at Erin’s residence near 70th and Leighton. Yes, you read that right — Erin’s home-baked products could be picked up right in front of the home they were baked in, where a shed housed a variety of items to be enjoyed. These items included pie bars, pie slices, cookies, dinner rolls, cherry mash, and so much more. The shed quickly became a huge hit — as many as 15 people at a time lined up in advance, eagerly waiting for the clock to strike 2 so they could receive their fresh-baked treats.

Many of Erin’s loyal customers are affected by various food allergies. Since her father was diagnosed with celiac disease, it has been Erin’s mission to specialize in gluten-free and dairy-free baked goods. She’s committed to always providing allergy-free options wherever her goods are sold, and her time in the pop-up shop was no exception. “The worst feeling is getting food with other people and having to be like, ‘Oh… maybe I can have a piece of fruit,’” Erin laughed.

From January to April 2026, Erin sold her sweets out of the pop-up shop while continuing to sell out of the shed. Erin’s vision for her time in the pop-up shop was to make the space feel like home, giving customers the same warm experience they were accustomed to when they picked up their treats in front of her actual home — the only change being the downtown location, which was more convenient for some.

Key dates during Erin’s stay included February 7, when Erin joined other local vendors in selling their goods at Union Bank Place during the Cupid’s Arrow makers market. Then, on February 17, customers were able to celebrate Mardi Gras with a king cake (ET’s Sweets is one of the very few places in town that offers them). 

The pop-up shop at Union Bank Place in downtown Lincoln gives business owners the opportunity to test out a brick-and-mortar location with built-in foot traffic. Offered to UBT business accountholders, the space is rent-free to the business owner for a four-month term. ET’s Sweets is the eighth occupant. Previous businesses have been Susa’s Sweets and Balloons, Studio Trouvaille, Moose’s Mad Fresh, Truth Papers, My Big Fat Greek Bakery, Rising Rolls Bakery, and KT Designs.