Almost 4 weeks ago, Yvonne Bartrand took the leap with her wholesale bakery business, opening A Piece of Cake bake shop (723 Main, 406-3440) in Dartmouth. “It’s fantastic,” she says, raving about the new operation, which is modeled after the Magnolia Bakery in New York, a place to get cupcakes and treats. “We cater to the sweet tooth,” she says, offering cookies and cinnamon rolls, but no bread. A Piece of Cake will cater your birthday parties or event, including summer camp stuff, and has fair trade organic coffee and teas. In Halifax, look for A Piece of Cake delights at Coburg Coffee (6085 Coburg, 429-2326) or The Daily Grind (5686 Spring Garden, 429-6397).
This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2009.
I’ve have her baked goods at Coburg coffee and was not impressed!
modeled after Magnolia? Better hope it tastes better than Magnolia’s cupcakes…beautiful to look at, but tastes like nothing.
I’ve had Magnolia cupcakes too. You’re right, they look pretty but nothing special.
If her cupcakes really are not especially tasty, then she’ll probably succeed. Unfortunately for anyone trying to make a high quality baked product, the market place is used to sweet nothings, and in fact demands them.
I know what I’m talking about. I owned and operated The Donut Machine for 3 1/2 years, selling real old-fashion donuts, made with whole grain flours and even home-made jelly in the jelly donuts. I managed to prove conclusively that very few people cared and some even complained.
I wish A Piece of Cake all the best. But she’d better not make her cupcakes too interesting.
Oh, I’ve had your donuts and they rocked. I’m sorry you had to close. I think your location was in a terrible area….sorry, just being truthful. I can’t help but wonder if that contributed to you having to close…..I can’t imagine “that” clientelle paying top dollar for premium, extraordinarily good donuts made with the best ingredients.
Hello, robo! Loved your donuts. Used to get them all the time on Windmill Rd. in Dartmouth. They were especially good in the morning when they were still warm.Yum! And you had good coffee too; hard to compete with the corporate donut purveyors. Anyone looking for excellent baked goods should check out Bonne Cuisine, downstairs in Spring Garden Place. Their ‘chocolate indulgence’ cookies are awesome.
“I think your location was in a terrible area…”
Actually, “that” clientele — both the residences and the businesses in the area — was very supportive of our efforts and really appreciated a business willing to take a chance on locating there. It was when we opened our second location on Spring Garden Road that we got the shock of our lives. Surrounded by tens of thousands of potential customers, we managed to lose money every day for 13 months before closing.
Robo, we had your donuts I’d say every second day or so at the office. Tim’s tasted like cardboard after having your uber delicious donuts 🙂 I can’t comment on what your walk up traffic was given your location, but we were more than happy to pop up from Alderney Gate to indulge in the goodness. Thanks for all of your efforts at the Donut Machine… wishing you all the best.
As for the cakes/cupcakes topic… I make and sell cakes as well, and for me, there’s nothing worse than a cake that looks amazing, only to fall short on taste. I focused all of my energies for months to create recipes that melted in your mouth, and then got to work on presentation. Many thanks to all of my taste testers 🙂
Best of luck to Yvonne!
So is A Piece of Cake still in operation in Dartmouth?
So is A Piece of Cake in operation in Dartmouth at this time?