DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Turns out you really can have your cake and eat it, too. At least that’s what Mary Thress is finding out.
Thress, owner of the newly opened Nothing Bundt Cakes in Deerfield Township, is running all parts of the bakery business from baking and frosting cakes to greeting customers and taking orders. The insulin-dependent diabetic is also able to eat a little cake, too.
Nothing Bundt Cakes is a franchise with stores all across the country. The first time Thress tasted the moist and flavorful cake, she knew she wanted to be a part of it.
For 28 years Thress and her ex-husband owned RWT Windows, where she also wore many hats, covering everything from cleaning up work sites to unloading trucks in the early years. But in more recent years she handled paperwork. Three years ago she sold her share of the company and was looking for a new venture, what she calls her second act, when she heard about franchise opportunities with Nothing Bundt Cakes.
The bakery opened in September, but Thress did not do it alone. Through mutual friends she was introduced to Carey Greiner, an attorney at General Electric. As Thress was looking for a new venture to dig into, Greiner was looking for an investment opportunity where she could be the silent partner.
The two met in 2015 and hit it off instantly.
Nothing Bundt Cakes started in 1997 in Las Vegas, Greiner’s hometown. She patronized the store when she lived there and, for the last 16 years, would pick up some bundt cakes whenever she was in town visiting family.
When she heard the company was offering franchise opportunities, she knew this was the business opportunity she had been seeking.
“I loved the nostalgia of bringing something from my old home to my new home,” said Greiner. “I get to share this delectable cake with my new friends and family.”
Besides being delicious, from a business standpoint, Greiner said it is appealing that they are not trying to make a million different products.
“We make a few things, and we make them very well,” she said.
Thress likes the company’s philosophy, which it has down to a science. Each flavor of cake has the same white buttercream icing, and they are all decorated in the same signature style. Accoutrements like bows, ribbons and tiny signs can be added to emphasize the occasion.
“Each cake is made the same way, every time,” she said. “There are no variations or changes, ever.”
Nothing Bundt Cakes prides itself on using the purest ingredients of real butter, fresh eggs and rich cream cheese, with no preservatives.
Flavors include lemon, white white chocolate, pecan praline, red velvet, cinnamon swirl, white chocolate raspberry, and a monthly seasonal flavor such as pineapple-upside down cake and pumpkin. The cakes, prepared like standard bundt cakes from years ago, are available in 8- and 10-inch sizes, as well as single-serving bundtlets and bite-sized buntinis.
“The buntinis come in an assortment box of 12 so people can try all of our flavors,” said Jackie Powell, store manager. “That way they can have a taste and then have an excuse to come back and get a bigger version of their favorite flavor.”
Each store is bright and fun, with a large selection of cakes available and usually some samples, too. The store also carries festive cake serving plates, candles, greeting cards and party decorations.
After one taste, fans can’t resist the moist, flavorful cakes slathered with rich icing, including Thress.
“This is worth the extra insulin,” she said.
Have your cake
The store is located at 9540 Montgomery Road in Deerfield Township. Store phone number is 513-492-8115.
