Jamie Powers’ bakery earns James Beard recognition
Jamie Powers likes to joke that her shop is essentially powered by butter. There’s certainly some truth to that, as DeLuxe Bakery carefully crafts all sorts of butter-boosted treats, but beyond the pastries, the real ingredients fueling the Iowa City bakery’s successful two-decade-plus run aren’t ones you eat or mix. They’re ones you feel: Passion, community, philanthropy, empathy and a whole lot of love.
And while you could certainly say that was intentional in the business plan, a better word would probably be instinctual — an innate byproduct of Jamie’s DNA thanks to her background, upbringing and overall character. It’s Iowa Nice sprinkled with Lebanese heritage plus a heaping scoop of human kindness. Those ingredients — plus a few more, including copious amounts of butter — are key reasons that DeLuxe and Jamie were honored as a semifinalist in the 2026 James Beard Awards for Outstanding Bakery.
“I’m so proud of the bakery,” Jamie said while a bit misty-eyed and holding back emotion. And as the lone baker represented among Iowa’s groundbreaking five semifinalist nods in 2026, Jamie modestly admitted she feels “really proud to be represented” in general with the James Beard Awards, but especially among her fellow Iowa nominees.
“It’s very rare that one person is nominated in the state of Iowa, let alone five. It’s very exciting.”
How DeLuxe Came to Be
As the daughter of a fifth-generation Johnson County mother and a first-generation Lebanese father, Jamie grew up surrounded by deliciousness and a farmer’s work ethic. The initial instinct whenever someone stopped by, came over or deserved a thank you, was to cook for them. “Disarm them with food” is a tactic Jamie likes to refer to.
After cooking her way across in kitchens in Chicago and Colorado, Jamie felt the pull back to Iowa City and in the process, saw an opportunity back in 2003.
“There was really no place at that time for me to work that had the bakery wheelhouse that I had, so I decided to open up my own shop with women’s business loans. I found an old grocery store and flipped it into a bakery that people could come to in a historic neighborhood.”
And while she jokes “nobody came in my first year,” that’s certainly not the case now, as DeLuxe is bursting at the seams with customers —whether coming in for something as simple as a cookie, a latte, something savory like a croissant or quiche, a Thanksgiving pie made from locally-grown pumpkins or a meticulously-decorated wedding cake. This gave Jamie exposure to “a huge demographic of people,” that has shaped her community-focused approach to hospitality.
The Secret Ingredient
Yes, she understands baking and food, but what makes her and the DeLuxe mindset special is that she really, truly understands people and a business can be and do for its neighborhood.
“I have my pulse on what is needed in the community,” she says with pride. “You have to if you’re a business, especially a food business. People are walking in for something small like a cup of coffee or a croissant, but a lot of people are walking in for something bigger — human connection.”
Continuing that same focus, Jamie and DeLuxe proudly give back and create deeper community ties any way they can. The bakery employs adults with special needs, regularly finds ways to feed the food vulnerable, and partners with the Iowa Free Lunch Program to donate proceeds from some of their holiday pies.
“When those doors open, we become a whole other human. And so keeping that lighthouse light going, I always would lay in bed at night and think, ‘Am I doing everything to keep that light going?’”
Thriving Through Authenticity in Iowa
Bakeries are known to be a grueling business. Early hours, hot ovens, long workweeks and being overrun with holiday orders. So as the lone owner of DeLuxe, how does Jamie find the time to detach?
“What I love about Iowa is when you’re done with your intense work, Iowa is a state that slows down and in turn, slows your pace down,” Jamie noted. “I’ll make a very slow dinner, I will be able to go to a Hawkeye women’s basketball game and completely forget about the world. It matches your pace and I find those moments walking with my dog and my daughter, going to a sporting event … just slowing down. It’s a place to slow down and clear your head.”
Those slowed down moments have allowed Jamie to reflect on DeLuxe’s success and national attention she’s put on Iowa City because of the James Beard Awards semifinalist nod in 2026. It’s an accolade that Jamie doesn’t take lightly, and while it’s largely come from her and her staff’s tireless work over the past 20-plus years, she also puts a lot of credit back on the Iowa food scene and the creativity and opportunity that it allows.
“We have the privilege to be as creative as we want because we don’t have that pressure” that many other big city restaurants and bakeries face, Jamie said. “We can be our authentic self.”
And that’s the secret recipe for Jamie and DeLuxe: Authenticity, community, philanthropy … and of course a whole lot of butter.
