Let them eat cupcakes
Pastry chef opens Antioch shop with gourmet treats
ANTIOCH -- Kelly Fetzer dreamed about starting her own business some day, she just didn't expect to find her ideal location and open within three weeks of signing the lease.
Kelly's Cupcakes, 388 Lake St., is where Fetzer bakes a variety of gourmet cupcakes six days a week, and right now she is "baking her heart out" to keep up with the demand.
(Brett Nadal/Special to the News-Sun)
Kelly's Cupcakes, 388 Lake St., Antioch, is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (847) 603-1130.
She is a graduate of Kendall College with a degree in culinary arts, gravitating toward pastry arts for the five years she worked in the restaurant and catering industry.
"Pastry making comes easily and I excelled in that area, so it made sense to specialize in pastries when I opened my own business," said Fetzer, 35, a resident of Fox Lake.
She didn't plan on locating in Antioch, and she didn't expect to start a business in this uneasy economic climate. However, when Fetzer spotted the former Spoonfuls bakery with a fully equipped kitchen, "I decided to just keep the equipment in its original location, and within three weeks from signing the lease I opened."
"This is a huge life change. I was a stay-at-home mom for eight years, but this was an opportunity I could not pass up. I thought I would wait until my kids were older, but this was such a great deal and I thought I would be stupid to pass it up. I am taking a chance, but it is worth taking."
She bakes five standard varieties daily, and offers three to five additional varieties that change every day. The standard cupcakes offered daily are vanilla with vanilla buttercream, chocolate with chocolate buttercream, cookies and cream, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and red velvet with cream cheese frosting.
She is closed on Monday, but, for example, on Tuesday she offers as her specialty cupcakes banana, Boston Creme and German chocolate. Friday is German chocolate, lemon meringue and chocolate chip. Saturday she offers five specialty cupcakes including S'mores, banana, triple chocolate, Snickerdoodle and strawberry.
So far, the favorites are red velvet, carrot cake, peanut butter and triple chocolate.
"Right now I specialize in cupcakes because I am the only baker, but I want to expand to other items, including pies, éclairs, cream puffs, brownies and cookies."
She carries homemade bread from Wild Flour Bread in Milwaukee on weekends.
After her grand opening on Sunday, she plans to hire some additional help so she can offer more of a variety of items.
"Right now, especially on weekends, I am selling out early, but I just keep baking all day to keep up with demand. The feedback has been so positive, and my customers are encouraging me to offer a variety of items and local restaurants are interested in me making dessert items."
"The response has been awesome, but it is hard to keep up. All my ideas are delayed until I get some help."
She sells cupcakes individually and in boxes of two, four, six and 12. She will soon offer boxes of mini-cupcakes, and anything left over at the end of the day is donated to Open Arms Mission Food Pantry.
She makes about 100 to 140 cupcakes daily, and on weekends she is making double that amount -- sometimes even more to keep up with demand, she said.
