Sugar Plum Sweets hopes to bake success

Sugar Plum Sweets owner Linda Phillips works in the kitchen of her shop. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH Enlarge | Buy This Photo

Sugar Plum Sweets, the newest bakery to hit Sylvania has gone through dozens of pounds of butter in recent days.

Since opening a month ago, the store at 5700 Monroe Street has even had to shut down one day because it couldn't bake fast enough to keep up with customer demand.

“We were overwhelmed by the support of the community, so we hired some new people and baked our little hearts out,”  owner Linda Phillips said. “It's a wonderful problem to have.”

With an all-over purple theme and two glass dessert cases, the bakery features a variety of products. She said the items will rotate, but there will be typical favorites, such as chocolate chip cookies, always available. In addition to cookies, the bakery sells bar-type desserts, such as cranberry bars, and it also features custom-designed cakes.

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to view images

Sugar Plum Sweets' pumpkin cheesecake bars. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH Enlarge | Buy This Photo

“We bake fresh everyday. We use all homemade recipes that have been shared with me from family or friends,” Mrs. Phillips said. With a background in hospitality, she began to seriously start thinking about opening Sugar Plum earlier in the year.

“Everyone always encouraged me to go into business. Now that we're experiencing our last child in high school and kind of an empty nest, I just felt like now was a right time for myself and my family,” she said.

But her family isn't far out of the picture — her daughter Brandi Phillips, who is trained in culinary arts, works in the kitchen, while her high-school aged son helps clean up the business after school.

“I've been surrounded by wonderful bakers in my family,” Mrs. Phillips said. “My friends are bakers. We love to entertain. We love to make people smile.”

The new business employs three full-time and three part-time workers.

When asked about projected sales for this year, Mrs. Phillips said "I don't really have a projected amount in mind -- everyday is a new surprise."

While the community response to opening the business has been surprising to her, she said she still maintains the balance of making time to chat with customers.

“I love to take care of people. I love to make someone else shine,” she said. Word-of-mouth marketing has already helped bring customers through the door.

“My daughter says, 'Stop in and get a cup of coffee.' I just live over here,” Irene Latimore said, as she filled a cup with hazelnut cream coffee and sampled a few of the desserts.

But in addition to making it a family business, Mrs. Phillips said the cakes Sugar Plum produces are also attracting the attention of several customers.

“We have sliced cake everyday,” she said. “We do specialty cakes by order. If they can dream it, we can make it.” She employs cake decorator Megan Caris, who she said is “just a cake guru.” Citing a Titanic cake that was made for a 12 year old, Mrs. Phillips said Sugar Plum can create nearly anything.

“We encourage parents to bring kids in, to let kids order their cake and have the ordering experience.”

At the end of the day, though, she doesn't want her customers to feel guilty about treating themselves or their friends and families to a sweet dessert.

“Everybody with the sweets, they always feel guilty. Check your guilt at the door. There's no reason to feel guilty. If you feel really guilty, park a little further away from the door,” Mrs. Phillips said.

Contact Kelly McLendon at: kmclendon@theblade.com or 419-206-0356 or on Twitter at @MyTownSylvania.