Main Street Getting Sweeter: Specialty Cake Shop Coming to Edmonds in March

Next month, Edmonds will get a little sweeter with the opening of Red Petal Cakes, a specialty bakery that will offer designer cakes, gourmet cupcakes, espresso and wine.

The brainchild of local cake designer Glenda Garcia, the idea for Red Petal Cakes developed two years ago when Garcia quit her consulting job and wondered what to do next.

“I’ve been making cakes for years for friends and family,” she said. “After I quit my job, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I looked into buying a couple of different businesses—a coffee stand, a salon—but it just wasn’t working out.” 

While waiting for career inspiration, Garcia continued baking for birthdays, weddings and baby showers. Last year, she donated a cake certificate to an auction for her boyfriend’s son’s baseball team.

Realizing that the winner would probably want to see examples of her work before ordering, Garcia set up a Web site with pictures and contact information designed solely to show off the cakes.

Soon, however, she was answering calls from people looking to place orders.

“It kind of just went from there,” she said with a laugh. “I started making the cakes and selling them as a business.”

As the orders picked up, those closest to Garcia hinted that she should open her own bakery. With encouragement from her boyfriend, she set out to find a spot in Edmonds. But once again, the places she looked at didn't work out. 

But then one did.

“I found this particular spot on Main Street that had been empty for about a year and a half,” Garcia said, referring to the space directly west of the planned Bill the Butcher shop. She remembered a long time where there was a "sold" sign there. Then, one day, the sign was gone. Garcia called immediately.

“The realtor said that no one had been interested in the building for over a year,” she said. “And he didn’t know anything about the sign. It all ended up coming together; we got the financing, and everything fell into place.”

And so, come March 3, when Garcia plans to hold a grand opening, Edmonds will have its own specialty cupcake shop. She'll have a food drive that day, with proceeds going to the Edmonds Food Bank. Customers who bring in donations will get cupcakes at half price.

With that kind of deal, customers can try more than one of Garcia’s inventive flavors, including Cherry Coke, Chocolate Merlot, Graham Cracker and Maple French Toast & Bacon. See a complete menu here. 

As a dog lover in a town like dog-friendly Edmonds, Garcia says no shop would be complete without a special treat for four-legged friends. Garcia has a Yorkie named Guinness and plans to offer special dog treats made from all human-edible food, but without sugar. The treats will be completely natural and 100-percent Guinness approved, she said.

“What I want people to know is that this is not just a cupcake place,” Garcia said. “It is so much more than that. I’ve lived in Edmonds for a long time, and the people here have been so friendly and so supportive. I want it to be a place where you can meet a friend and have a glass of wine, or grab a cup of coffee and stay to read a book. I am just so excited to share this place with the community.” 

For more information, or to contact Glenda Garcia about ordering specialty cakes, visit the Red Petal Cakes Web site. The store also has a Facebook page.