Address: Marshall Town Center, 2500 S. Center St., Marshalltown
Telephone: 641-328-1047
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Article Photos
T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY
Stephanie Anderson of Marshalltown is shown in her business, Cakes & More at the Marshall Town Center Thursday. The business offers cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cookies and sandwiches along with coffee, soft drinks and other beverages. Orders for custom made wedding cakes and other products welcomed.
Owners: Stephanie and Ryan Anderson of Marshalltown
The Business: After seven years of working as a home-based baker, Anderson opened her retail store inside Marshall Town Center Wednesday. She had developed a following for her custom-made wedding cakes and other products and decided to expand into traditional bakery fare at a conventional retail setting. "Opening the store was the next step in building our brand," Anderson said. "We are grateful for the assistance received from Tom Deimerly at MEDIC, SCORE and the Small Business Development Center. All gave us valuable input in creating our business plan and provided advice that allowed us to move from a home-based business to retail setting. Opening and operating a retail store is much different than operating a home-based business and we wanted to be prepared. And I'm glad to have my home kitchen back!"
Unique Features: Custom wedding cakes, home-made baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes, rolls, sandwiches and more all made with a personal touch. The business welcomes orders for custom-made cakes for anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, or other occasions. Fondant, a special rolled icing, uses on cakes, is a store speciality. "When winter comes we will be offering one or two different kinds of soups," Anderson said. "The soups will compliment our fresh lunch sandwiches."
Why Central Iowa? Opening the business in Marshalltown was a logical move, as she and family have lived here full-time since 2007 and Marshalltown was a primary residence previously. "We have two children and Marshalltown is our home," Anderson said. "A house fire set us back, but we decided to go all-out and spend what was necessary to get us back."
Staff at Marshall Town Center are excited to have the business.
"We are pleased Stephanie partnered with us," Ken Huge, Marshall Town Center manager said. Their menu of coffee, drinks, refreshments and baked goods for our customers and associates fills a void among our family of stores that we have been aching to fill for some time,. The fact the business is locally owned and operated makes it even more exciting for us. An added plus is that Stephanie opens the business early to accommodate mall walkers and workers."