Sugarpan Bakery Owner Sees Stars as the Limit

CAMPBELL, Ohio — Darla Cecil was “bit by the cake decorating bug” after making her first fondant cake using the power of YouTube and a cake decorating class.

“In 2007, my parents were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and I wanted them to have a nice cake. So I fell back on that limited knowledge from the cake class and I YouTubed how to do a stacked cake,” Cecil says. “I figured it out and the rest is history.”

Cecil operated a bakery business out of her home for 11 years before opening her first brick and mortar location, Sugarpan Bakery, three years ago in Campbell.

She specializes in custom baked goods including cakes, cupcakes and cookies, noting birthday cakes are her most requested item. Her cakes come in a variety of flavors, but she says vanilla and strawberry are the two most popular.

Running the bakery is a family affair and Cecil often recruits help from her children and mother. She says finding workers that can meet her standards can be difficult.

“Finding the right people is a challenge. Finding people who want to work and who don’t cut corners,” Cecil says. “I need them to do things a particular way, I have standards, so that’s the real challenge.”

Cecil is planning to branch out into selling cake supplies and also starting to venture into online sales.

She dreams of becoming a “baker to the stars” but says she will always keep her first location.

To place an order, go to SugarPanBakery.com, call 330 953 0096, email [email protected] or visit the store at 196 McCartney Road, Suite 3, in Campbell. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Pictured: Darla Cecil at her bakery.

Editor’s Note: This company story was produced in conjunction with the Western Reserve Transit Authority’s “Give Small Business a Lift Campaign.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.