Years to come of peaceful Saturday mornings at a small bakeshop in Grandin were literally shattered over the summer.
When a car accidently drove through the front window of Over the Top Cakes in late July, owner Jennifer Gray knew she was in for a change.
And new windows weren't going to be the only addition she came to think of.
"We decided to take the time while we were closed to really think about what we wanted to be," she says. "And we decided that we really don't want to be a cupcake shop – even though our cupcakes are great."
First opened in 2012, Over the Top Cakes has specialized in custom-made cake orders, and a variety of cupcakes sold in-store.
As with anything else, cupcakes tend to go in and out of style, says Gray. They are still popular with some people, and for weddings.
But really, St. Albert "needs a little more variety," she says.
So with two full-time pastry chefs and a baker, the dessert shop is now embarking on a greater mission, serving customers with a variety of fresh and readily available desserts.
These will include a selection of their cupcakes but also ready-baked cakes, lemon tarts, chocolate mousse, dessert shots and French macarons.
"I absolutely think that St. Albert is missing a dessert shop," she says. "We want to do really pretty desserts, and offer platters for Christmas. People go into the city for their sweets and pastries but now they can also come here."
Gray says the store has grown in popularity over the past two years and turns down between 15 and 20 cake orders per week.
Having more desserts and cakes available in-store may help fill some of the demand for last-minute orders, she says.
The store will continue to take orders for custom and sculpted cakes, and wedding cakes, she says.
"We are growing and we don't want to be turning people down," she says. "But also we don't want to sacrifice quality of product."
Car crash
A car hit the designer bakeshop, located at 2-B Sir Winston Churchill Ave., in the early morning of July 26.
The driver of the car had said her gas pedal got stuck when she wanted to park in front of the shop. No one was inside the store at the time of the accident and no one was hurt.
But the store had to close for renovations of walls, tiles and front windows. It opened again in late August and a grand re-opening will take place on Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Gray says that some of the shop's new desserts are now available in store. She will also offer more cake decorating classes for adults and children in the future, she says.
For more news and updates visit the shop's Facebook page or overthetopcakes.ca.
