Kimberly McCoy opened her bake shop and party venue in mid-January, and one of her first customers knew exactly what she wanted.
“I need all of this,” the woman said as she pointed to a display case.
“You mean one of each?” McCoy responded.
“No, I want all of it,” the customer said.
She left with 24 cupcakes and 15 strawberry parfaits. And at 1 p.m. on a Thursday, McCoy was sold out.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, McCoy expects to ramp up her baking output — especially of anything chocolate.
Decadent. Sweet. Indulgent.
McCoy has been staging birthday parties, wedding receptions, kids parties and baby showers (her favorite) since 2018. She provides the food, decorations, music and everything else to get the party started.
Packages range from $950 and up, depending on the number of guests.
“I’ve always wanted a little shop,” she says.
So, in a space she once used for storage of party equipment, she has opened Glam Shots Sweets and Customs, a sweet shop and events business at 803 Stamper Road at Eutaw Village Shopping Centre. Suites K and R, in an indoor mall space once occupied by Roses discount store, provide her a place to pursue her dream.
“I just love creating stuff,” McCoy says. “I love baking.”
McCoy and her husband have renovated the sweet shop to reflect the “glam” in the business’ name. Glass panels at the front open into a space in the mall reminiscent of an urban outdoor cafe.
Textured walls painted black and white, along with crystal chandeliers, offer simple but elegant style. Chairs and accents painted bright pink are a feminine pop of color.
McCoy’s husband, a truck driver by day, saw his wife using her creative side and decided he, too, needed an outlet. So, he began making framed wooden signs with cute and sentimental sayings. “Happiness is homemade with love and butter,” one of the sayings reads. Coffee mugs and T-shirts also are available.
Kimberly McCoy began working in the kitchen at Methodist University when she was about 15. She soon was catering for campus functions.
She found her own way baking chocolates and other sweets because, “Mom didn’t do nothing in the kitchen.”
Hearing that, her mother agrees, as she wipes down the tables and counters of the sweet shop.
“Mom does what she’s doing now,” says McCoy’s mother.
McCoy is inspired by Hallmark movies, especially ones with Christmas themes in which women discover what’s important in life and follow their heart.
“Parties for my kids got me started,” she says. “You start doing certain things and it takes off. I never thought it would be like this.”
“I love sparkly, glittery stuff. I glam it up a bit. I like to put sparkle on it.”
McCoy says that during the height of the COVID health pandemic, people really wanted dessert as dining out and social gatherings took a pause.
“Cupcakes and chocolate make everything better,” she says, “no matter what’s going on.”
‘Chip’ off the old block
Lots of people in Fayetteville remember Savanna Nelson as “Scooter Girl.” Her parents operated a bakery downtown. When nearby workers called in orders, Nelson would deliver them riding her bike.
“I was dipping strawberries in chocolate every Valentine’s Day from about age 10, from the time my mom taught me,” she says. “I was always like my mom’s mini-me.”
Nelson, 27, says her mother taught her everything about chocolate; her father taught her about customer service.
“People enjoy chocolate,” she says. “I think the idea that they can splurge makes them feel good.”
The family had several locations, including the Point News building, over the eight years they lived downtown. She, her parents and her two sisters shared a loft apartment above one shop.
She remembers a big Willie Wonka mural that was painted in one of the storefronts.
Nelson works five days a week in the body shop at Cross Creek Subaru filing insurance claims.
But on nights and weekends, she is preparing to open her own bake shop, Carolina Chocolate Chip, at 7639 Clinton Road in Stedman in the office of a former used-car lot.
She already has updated the plumbing and electric service, and she notes proudly that it passed a state health inspection.
A sliding glass “to-go” window was installed by her grandfather, and a lot of the interior work was done by her fiancé. A plumber who was a friend of her father offered good terms on payment.
Nelson has been selling baked goods wholesale to the Downtown Market on Hay Street for about four years. Her chocolates include gift boxes of truffles and shapes that reflect her customers’ personalities. Got a thing for scuba diving? She’ll find a shark mold.
She recently catered the reveal of the “Distinctly Fayetteville” rebranding campaign for the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, incorporating the blue and red lettering of the new logo.
Nelson is taking orders online as she gears up her Stedman bake shop. Valentine’s Day and other holidays are a boost for sales of chocolate goodies. At Christmas, hot chocolate bombs are — well, da bomb.
Her best sellers are truffles, with chocolate shells and a ganache center in flavors such as Irish crème and kalua.
Other treats for chocolate lovers are caramels with a soft center and fudge, plain and peanut butter.
In the future, she hopes to add ice cream and, maybe, outdoor seating.
So how does a baker who specializes in chocolate satisfy her own sweet tooth?
“I really don’t eat chocolate anymore,” she says. “My fiancé is my No. 1 taste tester.”
Feel the Burn
As the manager of Burney’s Sweets & More on Raeford Road, Gabrielle Gustafson leaves the baking to her staff. Her focus is on customer service and the business angles in the shop where she has worked since 2017.
“It takes more patience to cook,” Gustafson says. “You have to follow the recipe exactly. It’s a lot more complicated than the business end.”
But she’s familiar enough with baking that she knows what tastes good.
Chocolate. Rich and luscious. Satisfying a craving as only chocolate can.
Burney’s regulars are people on their way to work, some looking for a treat at lunchtime or the after-school crowd picking up something for the kids.
Fresh-baked croissants are the big draw for Burney’s. Add a chocolate drizzle or chocolate filling, and they’re something more than brunch fare.
Other fillings range from apple to raspberry, lemon to Bavarian cream.
And if you’re looking for something like grandma used to bake, there is always the 15-layer chocolate cake. With ever-so-thin layers of yellow goodness, there’s always more room to spread that mouthwatering chocolate.
For Valentine’s Day, Burney’s can cook up chocolate cupcakes and brownies, but the chocolate strawberries always are a favorite. A dozen packed in a heart-shaped container will run you about $25.
Christmas is a “woman’s holiday,” Gustafson says, so orders come in early.
“Valentine’s is a ‘man’s holiday,’” she says. “And they usually wait until the last day to buy something.”
But no worries, Burney’s will be prepared. The shop usually is closed on Mondays, but since Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, it will be open on Feb. 13.
Got you covered, stragglers.