A new cakery, Caked It, just opened in town – and it’s the result of years of work.
The mother of seven children just opened up the Caked It bakery on North 1st Avenue in Wausau and has been involved in the art of crafting tasty treats for years. It began with helping her grandparents at a bakery they owned in New York decades ago. She then shifted into being a professional cake decoration instructor. She is in her present position due to strong family encouragement.
“Eventually when I started having kids I slowed down a bit,” Long says. “But then about five years ago, my husband Christopher built a commercial kitchen onto our house and pushed me back into the hobby. He thinks I’ll franchise one day and move on and this is also due to my kids and mother. She never let me doubt myself and never wants me to pay her for helping me out.”
Origins of Caked It
Before finding her business name as a tribute to the Nailed It! Netflix baking competition show, Long also worked in collaboration with another woman under the Whiskin’ It bakery which has since shifted to the Sheboygan area. Long set out on her own about two years ago and, after working through continued demand during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, realized she needed more space. The search only took a few months, and now, demand is rising even further.
“Sometimes I have to turn people down,” Long adds. “I do 7-10 cakes a weekend and in this spot, I eventually want to hire someone and think we really will end up doing good business.”
So far, so good
Customers pratonizing Long so far such as Danielle Zellner recommends Caked It: “hands down.” In Zellner’s instance, they were the only business to do a dairy-free cake which was “absolutely stunning.” In the future, Long wants to do cake pops, cake-sickles, Rice Krispie treats, drinks, and cake decorating classes alongside staples. She is happy and excited, and based on received messages; many others are as well.
“I have gotten a lot of comments from people about how excited they are,” she says. “Even those I do not remember and some who have never ordered, they have been waiting for this shop.”
The Caked It bakery is located at 325 N. 1st Ave right beside the City Pages offices. They are open from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays and are closed Tuesdays while only being open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. More information can be found by visiting their Caked It LLC page on Facebook or by calling 715 – 870 – 2125, too.
Evan J. Pretzer is a contributor to City Pages. He can be reached at [email protected].
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