DETROIT (WXYZ) — The husband and wife team of Mark and Charlita Knox have combined their baking and retail skills and announced the official opening of Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio, Detroit’s only black-owned baking and cake decorating supply store.
The new store, located at 7114 W. Seven Mile Rd. near Detroit’s historic Avenue of Fashion, an area of the city that is home to local fashion designers, retailers and independent African-American-owned boutiques, offers a wide selection of premium baking supplies, from toppings to specialty ingredients to decoration tools. From a variety of cake boards, cake drums, Masonite boards to cupcake containers, pastry packaging inserts and cake boxes, Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio stocks all of the essentials that a baker needs to create that perfect sweet treat.
A ribbon-cutting will be held on April 2, as part of a daylong celebration to commemorate the store’s grand opening. Representatives from TechTown Detroit will join the Knox’s, along with a host of friends and supporters. Attendees will enjoy a special discount on all items in the store and be introduced to new products and supplies. Those in attendance will also have the opportunity to register for private baking classes and network with local bakers and chefs.
Charlita, a certified pastry chef and buttercream cake artist, and Mark left their corporate banking jobs in late 2018 and opened several pop-up shops selling elegant sweets and treats. Charlita soon realized her true passion was designing and decorating beautiful custom-made one-of-a-kind cakes. Discovering there wasn’t anywhere in Detroit for them to purchase cake supplies, Mark and Charlita decided to open their own bakery supply store — Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio. Charlita continues to create her custom cakes in the store’s commercial kitchen to satisfy an already established customer base while Mark handles the sales of cake supplies.
The Knox’s are graduates of TechTown Detroit’s Retail Boot Camp, an intensive, 12-week program that prepares serious entrepreneurs for the opening of their brick-and-mortar establishments in Detroit. The program curriculum is designed to strengthen businesses from pop-up stage to permanent location as they look to thrive in today’s retail environment. Retail Boot Camp has gained a reputation for supporting the launch of successful businesses in neighborhood commercial districts
Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio offers a range of creative, educational classes and demonstrations onsite for anyone looking to expand their baking skills. Participants can learn everything from how to set up a kitchen to following recipes, scale ingredients and master baking techniques.
To learn more, visit www.crummys.com.
