After three years of planning, checking and remodeling, Kelly and Timothy Maris have opened their sweet shop, 14th Street Sweets in Windber.
The couple, along with their daughter, Ivy, said they are excited about the new business.
“Up until now, it has been more word of mouth," Kelly Maris said. “People have contacted me ahead of time about what they want. We discuss their event. I have a planned menu, but I tell people if there is something they want and it is not on the menu, then just tell me and I will be glad to see if I can make it.”
The business is strictly about sweets, featuring mint chocolate fudge, peppermint meltaway cookies and vanilla peanut butter pie, just to name a few.
“We have cupcakes, cakes, cookies, eclairs, pies — all types of sweets," she said.
Timothy Maris said his wife’s creme brulee is better than the best.
“She actually studied with the chef who is said to have brought the recipe for creme brulee to the United States," he said.
The idea for opening a bakery came from Timothy, a mail carrier who asked his wife to make cookies for the union picnic. He had hired a local caterer to make the food but was told they did not make desserts.
“I asked Kelly to make some cookies and everyone went crazy over the cookies," he said.
Kelly Maris said she doesn't have a favorite pastry or sweet but enjoys making cupcakes.
“I have fun putting them together," she said. "I enjoy putting flavors together, like adding caramel to the apple cupcakes. I get a basic recipe, say a cake recipe, then I think what kind of filling do I want to put in them.”
The couple moved to Cambria County from Maine after learning about the area at a family reunion in Kittanning.
“We loved Maine, but it was so very expensive to live there," she said. "We had Ivy and didn’t want to put her in day care but could not live on one income in Maine.”
They checked out Johnstown and liked the area. A real estate agent found them a home in Richland Township. The home was very nice, but the kitchen was extremely small.
“The whole move to Windber was kind of necessitated by the need for more space and wanting to have a home business,” she said.
When they found a property along 14th Street, they saw a home with lots of possibilities. They made the purchase, enrolled Ivy in the Windber Area School District and made plans to officially start their business.
“We have been very happy here,” Kelly Maris said. “I think we made a really good choice of where to raise our daughter.”
The home they bought looks like a ranch home from the outside but has three levels inside. Space on the bottom floor now accommodates the professional kitchen for the bakery.
Kelly Maris said she has all the equipment she needs along with the state certification for an in-home business.
The family plans to have a new menu printed soon listing all the items they sell at the carry-out bakery.
“We will be taking orders for cookie trays for the holidays,” she said. “I do not make things far in advance. If you want a cake I will more than likely make it the night before. I think that freshness is very important for all baked goods.”
https://www.dailyamerican.com/news/business/family-sweet-shop-opens-in-windber/article_c67d5832-1196-5a96-91ed-f97e45cad379.html