Sue Liss came up with a rather novel idea to generate business during the normally slow summer months for her Sue’s Cakery in downtown Clarendon Hills.
Liss, a Hinsdale resident, opened Sue’s Cakery in April 2016 after she began “playing around with cakes” about seven years earlier.
While foot traffic generates some walk-in sales of cookies, cupcakes, pies and cakes, most of the business at Sue’s Cakery is generated by special orders and children’s birthday parties.
Liss’ addition to that menu was three-day summer camps, one for cookie and cake decorating, offered twice this summer, and one for decorating two-tiered cakes, which ran Monday through Wednesday.
Eight children, paying $180 each, participated in the two-tiered cake camp.
“Summer, traditionally, is a slow time of the year for baking, but we still have bills to pay,” Liss said. “This is a great way to bring in some income and let some other people know that we are here.”
Liss said she decided to offer the summer camps for children ages 7 and older because she believed there was an interest.
“There is such a fascination of baking shows on TV,” she said. “This is a way for them to actually try what they see on TV. I just let them be creative and have fun.”
Michele Viscardi of Wheaton thought the camp was a great idea when she found out about it and had that opinion confirmed by the experience of her children, Sam, 9, and Grace, 7.
“They love watching baking shows, and I thought this was a perfect for them,” Viscardi said. “It’s something different to do over the summer. I just wanted them to have fun.”
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Both Sam and Grace said they enjoyed the experience of making their cakes and being able to bring them home to eat.
Ella Bagull, 11, of Hinsdale, said participating in the camp allowed her the opportunity to have fun doing something she usually doesn’t get to do at home.
“I have three younger siblings, so it would get very messy,” she said.
Ella participated in a different baking class last summer at Sue’s Cakery, but said the experience was very different in the two-tiered cake camp.
“This was much more detailed and more artistic,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun, and you get to eat everything you make.”
Sophia Corniel, 8, of Western Springs, also was back for another baking camp after taking part a year ago.
“It was fun last year, but this was more fun because we got to bake an entire cake,” she said, noting that her efforts a year ago were limited to baking cookies.
Leah Mini, 13, of Indian Head Park, also was back for a second consecutive summer of a camp at Sue’s Cakery. And her mother, Kelly Mini, was happy to sign her daughter up again.
“It’s creative; they get to use their imagination,” Mini said. “It’s a hands on experience for them, and its’ good to eat when they’re finished.”
