We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Mazaris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

In 2015 my sister, mom, & I started creating custom gourmet cupcakes like red velvet, cookies & cream, and German chocolate, along with elaborate cakes! Before covid, what stood us apart from the industry standard was our delivery service! We bring custom cakes & other bakery goods right to your home, school, or office! We are a family business, so we hold each other up to a high standard & want all of our guests to feel like family! We know the importance of a personal experience. Something very important to us, is making sure that what our guests see advertised in a photo, will be the same as the product they receive at the bakery. We make sure our products are appealing to the eye, but also that the flavor and quality exceed their expectations! Being a small business makes it possible for us to be the “house of yes” without having to go up a corporate ladder for approvals, opening up opportunities for our creative team members to quickly pivot in uncertain times, last minute events, & even day to day operation.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My dad immigrated from Greece long before I was born and made a name for himself in the Detroit restaurant scene. My parents instilled a strong work ethic in my siblings & I from leading by example. My sister & I were working in our families steakhouse & as fufilling as that was, it didn’t spark our creative sides! I had always wanted to be a teacher, my sister is a very talented artist, & my mom is an amazing baker so opening a bakery was a great way to express our creative sides while teaching & learning from our staff of over 100 employees. Our business started as custom cakes & cupcakes, & quickly grew into a full service bakery with one of our most popular items being our over the top milkshakes loaded with our baked goods like cookies, brownies, & cupcakes! The first 3 years we were exclusively an online bakery & spent our Sundays at the Howell farmers market! We opened our first location in downtown Howell in 2018, with location #2 opening in Novi in 2021 & location #3 opening in Auburn Hills in July 2022! I find the ultimate satisfaction in coaching our young staff ways to brighten our guests day through food & a smile! In addition to the walk in bakery, we help couples elevate their wedding day, moms & dads wow their children with birthday cakes, & business professionals impress their staff or clients with custom desserts & lunches!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe our social media, customer referrals, & consistency with our products have helped grow our reputation! Our continuous growth has helped keep our products new, & exciting. We like to keep bringing new, never before seen items for our guests to experience. We have an attention to detail & an expectation of perfection. We have had recognition from national brands such as Warby Parker, H&M, Culver’s, Bud Light, Oreo, & Costco to name a few!!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Be there. Work along side the team. Lead by example, coach them, & empower them to make decisions on their own. There is no job in the bakery that I won’t do! I encourage all my staff to try new tasks, as there is nothing they can do that I cannot fix! I feel it is my social responsibility to teach young employees skills that they will use in their future careers & support their future dreams & goals! I have trained many young adults who have never had a job before into full time employees that decorate cakes, manage the store, & bake in the kitchen!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mstreetbaking.com
• Instagram: mstreetbaking
• Facebook: mstreetbakingcompany
• Other: tik tok mstreetbaking