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Date: 11/16/2022
WESTFIELD — After 11 years in business and four days of lines wrapped around the building, Mama Cakes has closed its doors for the final time.
Mama Cakes owner Kim McNutt said that the final days of business were both emotional and chaotic as she and her family worked tirelessly to make as many cupcakes and treats as they could. She had announced in October that the bakery would close due to the persistent economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, inflation, and an illness in the family.
The grand closing event began Nov. 9. Mama Cakes opened its doors at noon, but on that day customers were already waiting outside at 11:30. The next day, McNutt said customers were there by 11, and even earlier the following day. By the last day on Nov. 12, she said people were lined up as early as 8:30 a.m.
It was not uncommon for Mama Cakes to be completely sold out of cupcakes on any given day, and during the final days of business the shop sold out within hours of opening every single day. On the last day, McNutt said, the bakery sold out around 2:30 p.m., with many people still in line. Though they had none of their typical gourmet cupcakes left to sell, those waiting in line were just as happy to buy a small cup of frosting.
“We started making frosting cups with every bit of frosting we had left,” said McNutt. “Whatever we could give or sell, they were happily taking. We sold 150 cups of frosting on Saturday.”
She was joined by her family and children who had once worked at the bakery themselves in the final days of business. They traveled in from as far as North Carolina.
Though many businesses have gone back to their pre-pandemic setups without glass barriers and mask requirements, Mama Cakes has been operating without customers allowed to enter the store physically. McNutt said she kept this special precaution because her family has a terminally ill grandchild with duchenne muscular dystrophy, and relatives cannot visit him unless they are COVID-19-negative.
McNutt said her post-Mama Cakes life is already taking a different direction, away from the food industry entirely. One night during the initial pandemic shutdowns, McNutt randomly took an online certification for yoga instruction. When she became certified, she decided to continue to do the training, and has now begun teaching yoga classes for people with terminal illnesses that affect body movement, like her grandson’s illness.
In a post on the Mama Cakes Facebook page, McNutt said that the family is grateful for the vast support it received in the bakery’s final weeks of business.
“All of us at Mama Cakes would like to thank all of our customers as we say goodbye to this chapter of our lives. We did not expect the amount of love and support we received this week. We will forever be grateful for each and every one of you,” said McNutt in the post. “I would like to especially thank my daughter Abigail for being my right-hand person all of these years. Giving all of yourself to keep my dream alive. I could not be any more proud of you than I am right now. You will go on to do amazing things.”