Husband and wife team, Mark and Charlita Knox, opened Detroit’s only Black-owned baking and cake decorating supply store, Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio.
Photo by J. Lindsey Photography
Described as a mark of celebration, cakes and sweets are a staple in the Black community in Detroit and are a symbol of joy in the good times. And the good times keep rolling in in the city as more bakers are getting on board with this increasingly trending baking business.
Nestled near the historic Avenue of Fashion, Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio is one such business that has a sweet vision for creating confectionary-laden cakes while helping serve up a slice of opportunity for others new (or old) to the baking business in Detroit.
The husband-and-wife team, Mark and Charlita Knox, have combined their baking and retail skills and announced the official opening of Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio, Detroit’s only Black-owned baking and cake decorating supply store, recently.
The duo celebrated their ribbon-cutting ceremony with their new store, located at 7114 W. Seven Mile Road, and offers a wide selection of premium baking supplies, from toppings to specialty ingredients to decoration tools.
With over 173,905 baker and cake decorators in the United States, 80 percent of them are women with 63 percent white and 11 percent Black. Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio is helping even more interested bakers come on board with a range of creative, educational classes and demonstrations onsite for anyone looking to expand their baking skills. Participants can learn everything from how to set up a kitchen to following recipes, scale ingredients and master baking techniques.
From a variety of cake boards, cake drums, Masonite boards to cupcake containers, pastry packaging inserts and cake boxes, Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio stocks the essentials that a baker needs to create that perfect sweet treat.
Charlita Knox, a certified pastry chef and buttercream cake artist, and Mark Knox left their corporate banking jobs in late 2018 and opened several pop-up shops selling elegant sweets and treats. Charlita soon realized her true passion was designing and decorating beautiful custom-made one-of-a-kind cakes. Discovering there wasn’t anywhere in Detroit for them to purchase cake supplies, Mark and Charlita decided to open their own bakery supply store — Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio. Charlita continues to create her custom cakes in the store’s commercial kitchen to satisfy an already established customer base while Mark handles the sales of cake supplies.
“If you are a baker or pastry chef in the city of Detroit, whether you are a home baker, a professional or just a hobby baker, you have to drive out of the city into the suburbs for your baking supplies,” said Charlita. “My husband Mark and I saw a unique opportunity to turn my passion of baking into a business and to also be a part of the exciting revitalization of Detroit’s historic Avenue of Fashion.”
Charlita’s grandmother, Nana Delores, taught her how to bake and gave her the nickname ‘Crummy’ because she would always make a mess while helping her Nana.
“I was just her little assistant, and I would leave crumbs everywhere,” Charlita said.
Mark Knox told the Michigan Chronicle that the cake supplies at their establishment are for professional bakers, caterers and even ordinary individuals looking to get their sweet on.
“We have anything you need to decorate a cake, whether you’re a beginning baker just looking to come in, you know, grab a couple of things or whether you’re an experienced baker looking to cater a big event such as a wedding [we] have anything that can accommodate you,” he said, adding that they also make cakes themselves. “So, if we’re looking for a birthday cake, a wedding cake anniversary cake we can accommodate you there.”
The Knox’s are graduates of TechTown Detroit’s Retail Boot Camp, an intensive, 12-week program that prepares serious entrepreneurs for the opening of their brick-and-mortar establishments in Detroit. The program curriculum is designed to strengthen businesses from pop-up stages to a permanent location as they look to thrive in today’s retail environment. Retail Boot Camp has gained a reputation for supporting the launch of successful businesses in neighborhood commercial districts
“The determination of small business owners like Mark and Charlita Knox is a testament to the strength of Detroit’s neighborhoods,” said Amanda Saab, Small Business Services Director at TechTown in a press release. “Crummy’s Cake Supply & Studio is just what the city needs and we are proud to have provided them the tools to support their dream of one day opening a business. We look forward to watching their business grow and enjoy much success.”
For more information visit Crummys.com.
Garnet Terri, a second-generation owner at the 48-year-old eastside delivery bakery, took the business over from her mother almost nine years ago after she ran it for 40 years at the legacy cake business, Terri’s Cakes Detroit.
Terri is constantly putting her family’s business at the forefront and engaging in new ways to make her business more visible and profitable.
“We try our best to exude that love on a regular basis. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to add a little love to your special occasions,” she previously posted on Facebook.
For more information on Terri’s Cakes Detroit book by calling 313.600.3799 (Tuesday – Saturday, 10a-4p EST) or via email: info@terriscakesdetroit.com.
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