Cupcake maker has sweet deal
BY DAViD POLLARD dpollard@pioneerlocal.com January 25, 2012 9:58AM
River Grove, 01/20/12 Sandra Melendez-Ruelas, owner of Snazzy Sugar, frosts a cake at the shop Jan. 20 in River Grove. | Curtis Lehmkuhl~Sun-Times Media
Snazzy Sugar
Address: 8125 W. Grand Ave., #A, River Grove, IL 60171
Phone: (708) 456-7842
Website: www.snazzysugar.com
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday)
Article Extras
Updated: February 27, 2012 8:09AM
Looking for a sugar rush?
Snazzy Sugar in River Grove has the answer.
Specializing in fresh-baked cupcakes, the bakery, located at 8125-A W. Grand Ave., opened a year ago. It offers a variety of baked goods from pastries to cakes.
Owner Sandra Melendez-Ruelas says she has only scratched the surface of new cupcake creations.
“I’m always coming up with new pastries and new flavors,” she said.
She’s done jalapeno cupcakes, guava-filled cupcakes, and a bacon and pancake cupcake with real bacon sprinkled on top.
Melendez-Ruelas said she had a dream of owning a bakery and was determined to make it come true.
“I always had it,” she said about her love of baking. “I would sit and watch Julia Child as a child. I love to create with food especially with baking.”
So she left her job as a business manager and went out on her own. She said the only real obstacle in her way was fear of the unknown.
“One day I woke up and said I wanted to stop dreaming and just do it,” she said. “I took that leap of faith.”
She hasn’t had any formal culinary training, just a love for baking. She took a few classes on various design techniques.
“I never worked in a bakery,” she said. “I’m a self-made bakery business owner.”
She admits it wasn’t easy. She used her own funds and with the help of family and friends was able to transform the empty space into a cozy bakery within three months.
There are chairs and tables available for customers to sit while pondering over the positive affirmations that are posted on the walls.
The mini-cupcakes she makes are $1 each or $10 dozen and the regular size cupcakes are $2.50 each or $24 a dozen. She prides herself in using quality ingredients in everything she bakes.
She bakes between 10 to 15 different flavors of cupcakes daily and changes the flavors offered throughout the week making sure the basic chocolate and yellow cake cupcakes are always available.
In the future she hopes to incorporate wedding cakes into her baking repertoire.
So far business has been up and down with days where they get a lot of customers and others were it has been pretty slow. She’s not too worried because a year has passed and her door is still open.
“When Dec. 11 (2011) rolled around it was like it wasn’t easy but I did it,” she said. “It was a good feeling.”
Comments Click here to view or make a comment