When she first bought Richardson-based baking supply store Cake Carousel in 1998, she had one employee and the help of her husband, Richard.
Today, Cake Carousel has expanded to a larger Richardson location, opened a second store in Arlington and has multiple employees.
Jeri’s daughter, Kelli Duffy, wasn’t interested in pastry decorating like her mom was at a young age. But through observing, Duffy said she discovered a natural artistic ability and a love for “licking the bowls clean.”
“I didn’t finish college and was like, ‘What am I going to do?’” she said. “It was like a blessing in disguise. Not many families can work together.”
She now co-owns and operates the Richardson store with her mother, while her brother runs the one in Arlington.
Duffy specializes in teaching the popular decorating classes Cake Carousel is known for.
“I would just watch [my mom] all the time,” Duffy said. “Now, I love decorating; I love coming up with new designs.”
Jeri and Kelli said the beauty of their business is that it is for anyone who is interested in baking and decorating, regardless of experience level. Their store offers a variety of supplies, including cookie cutters, bakeware, candy accents and airbrush guns for advanced designs.
The wide assortment of classes they offer cover the baking and decorating process with basic, intermediate and advanced levels. All class types and schedules are listed on the company’s website.
Jeri said she and her family were initially concerned for the company when the COVID-19 pandemic slowed business last year. But Cake Carousel proved to be an outlet for many residents in the area who wanted to bake while stuck at home.
“We were deemed essential,” she said. “We still had business. We did a coupon deal, and we had several people say, ‘No, don’t give me a discount.’ It was very nice.”
Cake Carousel
100 S. Central Expressway, Ste. 36, Richardson
972-690-4628
www.cakecarousel.com
Hours: Mon.-Wed. and Fri. 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Thu. 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Sun.
