|
|
Client
Success Story Owner:
Carissa Mettling |
|
In 2006, Albuquerque’s tri-centennial year, we got another new - and very tasty - reason to celebrate. Carissa Mettling opened her specialty bakery, Cake Fetish. When asked (in a recent interview by Web publication Cupcakes take the Cake) where the great name came from – Carrie recalls, “I was buying an all cake issue of a bridal magazine at the supermarket and the cashier said, ‘Oh, are you getting married?’ I said, "No, I just have a cake fetish.” I thought about it the rest of the day and decided to scrap all of the other names I had come up with.” Her customers regularly buy a hundred or so mini-cupcakes for office or parties, so everyone has a choice of scrumptious flavors. Her ever-growing number of loyal customers have an almost overwhelming choice of more than 45 cupcake flavors, in both mini and regular sizes. The wonderful and addictive selection includes “Creamsicle,” lemon-flavored “Pucker Up” and “Velvet Elvis.” One customer comes in literally every day for an “Inside-Out German Chocolate” cupcake. While she also sells a lot of regular-sized cupcakes, Mettling notes that because the minis are “scaled down, they make it easier to celebrate something or nothing at all.” An architect, Mettling got sidetracked by her baking hobby. As she built a customer base working out of her home kitchen, she realized cupcakes were an emerging a national trend that she could introduce to New Mexico. She got her inspiration for turning her hobby into a full-time business when she saw a bakery, Cupcakes, while on a business trip to Vancouver. With help from Ray Garcia, of the Albuquerque SBDC (Small Business Development Center), Mettling did her market research and business plan. She then found that local banks had limited ability to make loans to startups so the SBDC referred her to The Loan Fund. Within the year, Cake Fetish was so successful that Mettling (along with two other Loan Fund clients) was recognized as one of the SBDC’s Clients of the Year (2007). For more information, including menus, daily specials, and catering services, visit www.cakefetish.com. Bakery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00-6:00, Saturday 10:00-4:00 and Sunday 10:00-4:00. (Tip: Try the “Sleepless in Albuquerque” - Chocolate Cake with Mocha Buttercream, a drizzle of Chocolate Ganache and an espresso bean.) |
|
