Downtown Galt is getting a new custom cake shop and cafe on Park Hill Road.
Located near the Park Hill Studios in the former Ray Electric building, two homegrown bakers are ready to open the doors to the public for the first time today with a grand opening celebration.
Jennifer Talarico-Moodie and her daughter Brianna Moodie have stepped out of their home kitchen and into their new commercial space to serve Cambridge and the rest of the region on a bigger stage.
For nearly 10 years, Talarico-Moodie has been working out of her home kitchen making custom cakes and cookies for customers and corporate events, but since COVID her business has taken off.
"Right before COVID happened, I quit my full-time job and started just doing cakes," said Talarico-Moodie. "Both of us are very creative people and I think it was just somewhere where you just feel the excitement and the inspiration to create things and I think that's what for both of us is really the driving factor."
Baking her first custom cake as a request from a friend, Talarico-Moodie then went on to start supplying Cambridge Memorial Hospital with custom cookies and other baked goods for their events.
"I think Cambridge Memorial is our best customer," said Talarico-Moodie. "I made that first cake for a friend's child and then it started to grow from there."
The cakes range from multi-tier creations to single-layer displays adorned in chocolate, hazelnut and just about any flavour JTM has available.
Having spent the better part of a decade in their home kitchen, the mother-daughter duo is now working with a space that is nearly four times bigger, making larger orders easier and more efficient to make.
Moodie says they will be tasked with making hundreds of cookies for a single order and they could get up to 20 orders a week.
"This isn't a small operation, but we're excited to finally open our doors," she said.
The bakery and cafe has opened its bright and colourful space to the public welcoming walk-ins while still creating the custom cakes that put them on the map.
The shop's yellow door is easily visible, with the intention of giving off friendly vibes, said Moodie.
"Both of our favourite colours are yellow, so we have our yellow door and it's just a colour of happiness and that's our main thing. You want just a positive space where you feel like you can create your dreams and help other people achieve their own and the possibilities are just endless," she added.
The goal is to become a community cafe where customers can grab a coffee, latte or tea and spend time with each other. Next to the dining area is a public room that will be available to rent for parties, work functions or book clubs.
In the future, Moodie would also like to host cake and cookie decorating classes, giving the public an inside look into how they create some of their most elegant creations.
The road to opening wasn't an easy one, as the bakery passed its expected opening date by three months. After a few minor setbacks with a previous management company and a $20K loss, the bakery is finally ready to show off its new space.
"This has all been a learning process," said Talarico-Moodie. "As difficult as it was, in my heart, like I just knew it would be worth it."
JTM Bakery is now officially open and is taking custom cake requests, but asks that customers book one month in advance for any custom orders.
To find out more about the bakery, visit their website for more information.
