A popular mobile bakery on the US base in Japan raises the limits of home companies

Yokota Air Base, Japan-a popular mobile bake shop, which is operated by an Air Force spouse, directs the rules that govern companies on US military bases.

Deanna Craven, owner of Craven Sweet Treat, opened her pink white trailer on March 25 after nine months of preparation. Cravens baked goods, including her characteristic sourdough -zucker -focaccia, quickly attracted long snakes outside of Yokotas Post near the exchange and the commissioner.

But after only a few weeks, said Craven, she was informed that, based on basic guidelines that companies restrict companies for the competition with established providers, they could no longer operate in this place. Your trailer is now limited to operating in residential areas on the east and west side of Yokota and near the basic library.

“It was really frustrating,” she said in a video that was posted on the Facebook page of her business this spring.

“I know that some of our highest income was in some of the red zones,” she said in an e -mail on July 16 Stars and Stripes. “We also had no chance to get to the Yokota terminal (passenger) before the restrictions were available to know how things would go there.”

The experience of Craven shows the challenges that the entrepreneurs face of domestic entrepreneurs. While these companies can be allowed to operate on the basis, they must follow strict guidelines in order to avoid the competition with official services and to receive the access of the community to essential goods.

Craven Sweet Treats, a mobile bakery, has been working on Yokota Air Base in Westtokyo since March 2025. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)

Bluferry Muffins from Craven Sweet Treat, a mobile bakery that operated in West Tokyo on the Yokota Air Base in March 2025. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)

Craven Sweet Treat is one of 29 approved companies in Yokota, said captain Emma Quirk, spokesman for the 374th Air Bridge wing. These companies range from custom -made baked goods to personal services such as hairdressers, but everyone is subject to the location and the operating limits.

“They may not compete directly with established basic providers who are an essential component for long-term access to essential goods and services for the Yokota community,” said Quirk in an email on July 14th. “This sometimes requires location -based authorizations for [home-based businesses] To align yourself with this intention. “

In addition, entrepreneurs in their homeland must not use the military postal system, the exchange service of the army and the Air Force defenders or the defense commissional agency.

The commander of the wing, Colonel Richard Mcelhaney, found in a statement by Stars and Stripes on July 14 that his wife Carolyn headed a microboutique and sold clothing and jewelry from her house during an earlier tour in Yokota.

Mcelhaney described Home-based entrepreneurs a “powerful force to make our community a more lively living.”

“It is important that we reconcile the competition of all companies on the entire base to ensure that we do not cause unintentional effects of the second and third order that leave us a gap in the service options,” he said.

Craven thanked the wing for hearing her concerns and said she hoped to inspire potential entrepreneurs.

“I really hope and try to make a change to show that military spouses achieve so much positivity and can bring unique ideas to our house -based companies,” she wrote.