Deanna Robinson, a "kupkakologist" and self-described "happiness bringer," said she wants to change the world and build an empire one "kupkake" at a time. Her launching pad is her new spot inside The 206 food hall in Roanoke.

The backstory

Kid Kakes is located next to Soul Fire Brewery at 206 N. Oak St. in Roanoke. Robinson said she uses the letter K in many of the words associated with her business as an homage.

“It’s for my kids,” Robinson said. “My son wanted to go sell cupcakes in the neighborhood. So I told him to make me a batch first. I tasted it and told him that we could do better than that.”

Using her background in the food service industry as well as time spent in culinary school, Robinson helped her kids make a batch of cupcakes they took out and sold to the neighborhood. At the end of the night, Robinson said they made $76 in profit.


“I told them they could either split the money or put it back into the company,” Robinson said. “They all said to put the money back into the company.”

The rest of that night, Robinson said they sat around a table and created business cards with the name of the company they had come up with: Kid Kakes.

A closer look

Besides cupcakes, Robinson also sells cakes, cookies and other baked treats. Her treats are available on DoorDash, and Robinson said she includes a handwritten note with each delivery.


Being located in a food hall next to a brewery has also allowed Robinson to partner up with her fellow tenants to offer customers more options. For example, she is planning a beer and cupcake tasting with Soul Fire Brewery. She’s also planning her grand opening for March 7.

As for initial reaction to her cupcakes, which include unique flavors such as pineapple upside-down cake made with real pineapple chunks, Robinson said people have had one of three reactions during the soft opening.

“They either stop whatever they’re doing, they start dancing or they start cussing, but in a good way,” Robinson said. “They’re just like, oh, this is amazing.”