In a time when companies across the country are struggling to survive, a handful of new businesses in Starkville are thriving, thanks in part to the city”s collective taste for sweets.
“Starkville is definitely a dessert town,” said Carol Taylor, owner of The Cake Box on Louisville Street.
Since The Cake Box opened to the public six months ago — Taylor only took special orders before then — business has been booming, she said. Taylor”s husband, Mark, is her sidekick in the venture and estimates the couple will bake about 100 wedding cakes from scratch in the coming year. Add in orders for birthday cakes, cupcakes, pastries, cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries, and the Taylors are staying busy.
“When we have a big wedding weekend, we”ll come to work on Thursday morning and work straight through until we”re done Saturday afternoon,” Carol Taylor said. “A lot of times we don”t sleep for two days.”
Using fresh ingredients every day, the couple produces a better tasting product than frozen cakes found at grocery stores, Mark Taylor said. And a better tasting product results in more repeat customers. Last weekend was the busiest the Taylors have experienced since opening last summer.
“It”s a good problem to have,” Mark Taylor said of the hectic work schedule. “We don”t throw stuff at each other when we get busy, but it does get intense.”
The Taylors have competition, albeit a friendly one, across town in 19-year-old Hailey Peterson. Peterson opened Cups-N-Cakes in late July and says she has been baking and decorating 60 to 80 cakes per week, whether they are for birthdays, weddings or other special occasions.
“Business has been really good,” Peterson said.
Peterson learned her way around a kitchen in 2004, when she went to work at her grandfather”s bakery in Louisville. She eventually came to Mississippi State University to pursue a nursing degree, but decided to take a chance last summer and opened her own business in College Park Shopping Center. She now spends 75-80 hours a week on the job and withdrew from MSU for the semester to focus all of her energy on Cups-N-Cakes.
“I started with cupcakes and now I”m doing 5-foot-high wedding cakes,” Peterson said. “I never dreamed it would get this big.”
A few blocks south, another young business owner recently added his name to Starkville”s tax rolls. In late October, Bart Smith, a Richmond, Texas, native, opened Local Culture Frozen Yogurt in Cotton Crossing Shopping Center.
Smith, 26, went to law school at the University of Florida, where he noticed an abundance of frozen yogurt shops.
“I looked into it and I noticed there were hardly any frozen yogurt places in the Southeast, let alone in Starkville,” Smith said. “I saw Starkville was a growing community. You have more than 20,000 people here and a lot of college kids, so I saw an opportunity.”
Smith moved to Starkville and opened Local Culture on Oct. 27. With 10 flavors of frozen yogurt and 30 toppings available every day, from sprinkles to fresh fruit to cereal to gummy bears, customers can fix their treats exactly how they want.
“The person really has total control,” Smith said. “They can fix it however they want.”
In the nearly three months Local Culture has been open, the business already has attracted regular customers, and Smith said he couldn”t be happier.
“It”s been incredible,” he said.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Elizabeth Young also recently opened a new business. In early October, Young opened Zazzle”s, a Chicago-style food restaurant, in the former Red Zone location at 303 B Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Business started out “great,” but has slowed recently as temperatures dropped, Young said.
Zazzle”s is a certified Vienna beef hot dog vendor. Young and her employees fix the hot dogs Chicago style, with green relish, onions, a tomato, a pickle spear, mustard and a dash of celery salt. They also serve other items, like Philly cheese steaks, gyros, sausages, burgers and appetizers, among other things. Beer and happy hour specials also are on the menu.
The idea for Zazzle”s came when Young”s niece, Camille, moved to Starkville from Chicago. Young worked for the Oktibbeha County School District for 11 years, but was looking for a new career path. It was then when Young decided to bring a taste of Chicago to Starkville.
“Nobody was doing anything like this around here,” Young said.
Young enjoys being a small business owner and says the experience has taught her valuable lessons.
“You have to be cautious with every dime you spend, but it is rewarding,” she said. “I love it when our customers leave and they”re smiling and there is no food left on their plate. That makes it all worthwhile.”
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