Her Stacey’s Sweets LLC on the Ozark square has become a place for all things frosted, iced, decorated and delectable in Christian County.
As the framed Julia Child quote in the shop says, “A party without cake is just a meeting.” In the average week, roughly 50 cakes walk out the antique wooden door, headed for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings or baby showers.
“Cake decorating is my happy place,” Coggin says.
Though she’s only had the storefront since 2011, Coggin’s decorating talents run deep. The former Lebanon and Sparta kindergarten teacher quit to become a stay-at-home mom and started frosting as a hobby. Word-of-mouth quickly spread regarding her unique style and quirky patterns.
“You can tell a Stacey cake just by looking at it,” she says. “Friends, teachers, family – they were all asking me to make cakes and just paying for my materials. It started to become a business.”
One day, a frequent client suggested she open a shop in recently vacated space on the southwest corner of the square. From “Frozen” to football and R2-D2 to Rainbow Brite, the distinct cakes now make up roughly 75 percent of the bakery’s $210,000 annual revenue, and the shop employs three full-time trained decorators.
“Every year has been better than the last,” says Seth Coggin, a self-described “cake husband” who works by day as an engineer and manages the bakery’s finances. “We’ve averaged about 25 percent growth per year since opening. In fact, this January was the first month ever we didn’t show growth from the previous year.”
Using 250 pounds of sugar and 30 pounds of butter weekly, the shop averages $20,000 a month in sales. During holidays and graduation seasons, Stacey says the bakery produces 100 cakes a week. Prices vary depending on size and intricacy. A 6-inch round starts at $30, and a quarter sheet cake is $35 with design costs quoted by the artist. Wedding cake is priced per serving, with buttercream starting at $2.50 and fondant at $4.50.
While cakes are the top sellers, Haley Gillespie says the cookies are no slouch. The nine-year Murney Associates real estate agent gives away a dozen with each home she sells.
“They’re shaped like little houses, and they decorate them differently each time,” Gillespie says. “I’m always just as surprised as the clients to see the designs.”
At roughly $30 a dozen, Gillespie closed 35 deals and spent over $1,000 on cookies last year. That’s not to mention the five to eight cakes she buys.
“I use Stacey for just about everything,” Gillespie says. “I’m a bit of a cake snob.”
Milk-bottle and cookie-jar shaped cookies are on display in the retail counter this week alongside 12 cupcake flavors, such as mango pineapple, cookie dough and pretty princess strawberry.
“I can’t bring myself to charge more than $2 for a cupcake,” Seth says, noting Stacey’s are $1.75. “Some places around here sell for $2.25 or more, and that’s crazy to me. If all our bills are paid, we can pay our employees, we take home a bit and Stacey is happy – that’s all that really matters.”
Like Stacey’s signature almond buttercream recipe – a combination of others’ wisdom and her personal tweaks – the ingredients that make the business run have developed over time. It’s a family affair: Along with Seth, Stacey’s brother Ryan bakes everything in-house. Birthday cake photos of Stacey’s family hang in the lobby of the 120-year-old building.
In what started as a 1,000-square-foot shop, the Coggins doubled the bakery with the 2013 purchase of the building for $250,000.
The shop now includes a party room for small gatherings, and the couple rent three loft apartments above the bakery.
Racks for ribbon, tubs of colorful buttercream and piles of multicolored sprinkles line the walls of Stacey’s happy place. Despite some stress-filled days and a couple decorating overnighters, she wouldn’t change a thing.
“It’s my creative outlet,” she says. “Sometimes I miss teaching the kids, but in a way, I’m still with them. I see them on their birthdays, and I’ve even made a wedding cake for a former student.
“Getting rid of the business side was always my end goal. Now, I just frost and it’s amazing.”
