- January 7, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
A former NFL player recently opened a franchise-based dessert store in honor of his biological father. Michael Lehan just launched the Peach Cobbler Factory in Bradenton, where he lives.
A variety of cobblers, cookies, banana puddings, shakes, brownies, cinnamon rolls, churro sticks, Belgian waffles and other items are on the menu.
When Lehan, who spent time in foster care and was adopted, met his biological family in Texas after his freshman year at the University of Minnesota, his biological father had a sweet way of greeting him.
“Every time I visited, he’d have peach cobbler waiting for me as soon as I walked in the door. The smell meant I was home,” Lehan says in a statement. “A man of few words, his love language was acts of service — and that cobbler was his way of saying, ‘I love you.’”
A few years after the two met, Lehan’s biological father died, but his memory will live on at the Peach Cobbler Factory on Cortez Road, which held a soft opening in late December.
“As we open our doors, we offer love in the form of service — hoping to bring you a little sweetness and maybe even a touch of peace,” Lehan says.
Lehan hopes to bring additional Peach Cobbler Factory stores to Manatee County. The franchise has 15 other locations in Florida, including in Tampa and Lakeland, with a presence across 17 states plus Washington, D.C.
Before getting into the peach cobbler business, Lehan has had a wide-ranging career, from pro sports to education. He was a defensive back in the NFL, playing for the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints between 2003 and 2009. Then he got his doctorate in education from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He served in Minnesota school systems before taking on a role as senior vice president at IMG Academy in Bradenton; and more recently, he became district vice president for Fusion Education Group, a Michigan-based organization that offers one-to-one classes through Fusion Academy, providing virtual school for students in grades 6 to 12.
The Peach Cobbler Factory will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day until the grand opening on Saturday, Jan. 11, at which point hours will shift to 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at 629 Cortez Road W., Bradenton.
