New bakery opens in downtown

Date: 7/5/2011

July 6, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE — The most challenging cake Evelyn Vargas has been asked to create was one that looked like an infant for a baby shower, but she said proudly the resulting confection actually looked like a child.

She added she made the sculpture of cake and frosting even more realistic a second time.

“You name it, I’ll do it,” she said of cake subjects. “I never turn away any request. I like a challenge.”

Vargas, who has been creating cakes for the past eight years, recently started her first business, Evelyn’s Bakery at 8 Center St. The business has been open since May 23.

The reaction from the community has been good, Vargas said at her official grand opening on June 23. Besides the custom orders, Vargas offers a variety of baked goods to go or to eat at the shop. She is serving breakfast and lunch sandwiches as well.

The shop is open Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Prominent in the display case is a row of cupcakes that range in flavor from standard offerings such as chocolate and vanilla to almond and lemon. Vargas said that cupcakes are very fashionable now as they offer a cake experience but in a single serving. She added she had a recent order for a custom cake for a “Sweet 15” party, but the parents also ordered 150 cupcakes to serve to the guests.

Custom cakes take a minimum of two weeks notice, she said, and wedding cakes require at least one month.

On her Web site, www.cutest-cake-creations.com, Vargas even offers instructional videos for people who would like to try cake decorations themselves.

At the grand opening, Mayor Michael Bissonnette said the nearby Market Square Billiards building would be demolished in the fall, making room for 30 more municipal parking spaces that will serve downtown businesses such as the bakery.

Vargas said that opening the bakery is “definitely a dream come true.”