We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tracy Albert. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tracy below.

Hi Tracy, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

With regards to the bakery, one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me is donate money to our business. Vision Church in Raleigh, has a program call R.A.G.E. (Random Acts of Generosity Everywhere). Through this program, they pick a small business to donate money to each year. Their parishioners collectively gave so that they could donate money to our business so that we could use it towards something we needed at the time. It was an unexpected blessing that meant so much to us. Small businesses, depending on how you got started, can often struggle with cash flow in their beginning stages, so every extra incoming dollar counts. We were honored to be picked for this and will forever be thankful for the kindness they show via this program.

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 name is Tracy Albert, and my husband Jason and I own Cake Town Bakery in Knightdale, NC. I’ve always been a bit of a baker. I spent time up under my mom in the kitchen when I was a child, helping her mix cake batter or cookie dough (really just lowkey wanting a chance to lick the spoon!)

While in college, I started baking more frequently. It started with cookies for my friends and family and quickly became a dedicated and determined passion. I started my small side business making cookie baskets for birthdays and baby showers. It wasn’t until people began asking if I could do cupcakes and cakes, that I really started to practice and learn how to make and decorate them more and more. I’m a hands-on visual learned, so I like to say that I’m a proud graduate of YouTube University! It took years of trial, error, blood, sweat, and tears to eventually begin to create great tasting and visually pleasing products. I’d classify my style as classic traditional with clean lines and simplistic beauty.

After college, I worked for Bright Horizons as an Infant Teacher and began making cakes for the kids at the center, and it just continued to evolve. It started to get to the point where I was turning down orders because I was working, and in January 2020, I leaped to start baking full-time. Of course, the pandemic then happened in March, but I continued to grow and create content to build my brand. Then, in February of 2021, we were blessed to open our brick-and-mortar shop. We’ve been growing ever since!

I’m super proud of where I am and of the family friendly atmosphere we have here. My brain is constantly thinking of ideas and
flavors to keep things interesting. I love that our menu rotates, which isn’t a typical trait of a bakery, but it allows customers to come in and try different things from week to week. Everything is made from scratch, and I think most people feel a sense of nostalgia when they try our cakes, especially our pound cake. Our ‘Nana Pudding has become sort of an addition around Knightdale as well. The kind of addition you want in your life!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There have been some struggles for sure. When we were initially looking to secure a physical location, the SBA told us that we would fail and that our business would not survive. It was a hard pill to swallow, and a massive blow to my confidence. On one hand, I knew that what they were saying had an ounce of truth to it. Many businesses starting out with minimal capital, do often fail because they can’t keep up with the cost of owning a physical business. On the other hand, I believed in myself. I didn’t jump in feet first in order to fail. God had another plan and things fell in place that allowed us to proceed with opening the shop and we haven’t looked back.

As a growing small business, are there times when I question myself and stress over things? Sure, but it comes with the territory. I put in a lot of hours every week as our staff is still small right now. It’s steadily growing, but in the end, having something I can call my own is truly something I am proud of. The community has been open, welcoming, and supportive as we grow. Bringing joy to others through my work is my pride and joy. Seeing the excitement on a child’s face for a cake with their favorite character on it, or seeing newlyweds be made speechless by their cake on their special day lets me know I made the right decision to pursue my dream.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

First and foremost, we have been complimented numerous times on how warm and friendly we are. Some have even said it feels like walking in to hang with your family. When I envisioned having my own shop, I wanted people to have that feeling of comfort and joy whenever they come in. Many regulars even have bakery nicknames!

Secondly, and most importantly, having great tasting baked goods has been a major factor in building our reputation in the area. We aren’t perfect and don’t claim to be. We may not be everyone’s cup of tea; however, I feel that cakes and cupcakes can always look good. If they also taste good, then you’re doing something right. Ultimately, that’s what keeps people coming back!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.caketownnc.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/caketownnc
• Facebook: Cake Town Bakery NC, LLC
• Yelp: Cake Town Bakery, Knightdale, NC

Image Credits
Tracy Albert