Feel Good Friday: Sugar, Spice, and an Anniversary So Nice

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A local business is celebrating a special anniversary this month.

Cake Art Supplies and Bakery is marking 50 years on West Sylvania Avenue in Toledo. Dorothy Bryan has owned the shop for 29 of those years. And her memories of the place stretch back well before that.

“My mom used to come in here and buy supplies for her cakes,” said Bryan with a smile. “I didn’t think it was cool then!”

For years, Bryan worked as an EMT. Then her life took a sweet turn after an impromptu chat with the previous owner.

“I can remember it was April 16, that was on a Tuesday at that time in 1994,” she recalled. “I said, well, one of these days, I’m gonna have a shop like this.”

Thanks when the owner revealed that the store was for sale. Almost exactly a month later, the deal was done.

Lifelong customer, Julianne Pickard, contacted 13abc about the store’s anniversary, hoping to shine a light on what the local business means to so many families.

“This is a store my family’s been coming to for generations,” said Pickard. “I came with my grandmother, my mom comes, I come, and now I bring my own kids!”

Though Pickard acknowledges there are many options available for buying these types of items, Pickard says there is something special about Cake Art Supplies.

“You can shop online so easily .. but coming here, you get the people,” she explained.

Under Dorothy’s guidance, the store doubled in size and added its bakery. She also offers a slew of popular classes for baking and candy-making, which she says have helped countless others to launch their own businesses.

Now, Bryan is starting to think about passing on her recipe for success.

“I’m ready to turn it over so somebody can take it to the next level.”

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