Recently Opened Bake Shop, Cakewalk, Finds Home in Athens, Georgia

Starting a small business, especially in a town like Athens that is teeming with competition, is no easy feat. For Cakewalk, a bake shop opened on South Milledge Avenue just three months ago, the town's thriving community atmosphere has instead been a means for success.

Cakewalk boasts a wide array of baked goods and unique gifts, from cakes and cookies to jewelry and vintage items. The baked goods are not made in-house but are instead sourced from local—or in some cases just outside of Athens—bakeries.

For owner Jennifer Mitchell, opening the business at its current location was entirely intentional as it allowed for a connection into a diverse, and lively, segment of the Athens population.

"Milledge is wonderful. It has a mixture of everyone—it has college students, it has businesses, and it has restaurants. It's unique with the antebellum homes," said Mitchell, "and there's so much pedestrian traffic with people out walking dogs and their kids."

This nearly constant foot traffic on South Milledge has brought a steady stream of customers into Mitchell's shop. On any given day, college students and business people alike can be seen stopping in for a tasty treat. Further, word-of-mouth in the closely connected Athens community has also been a helpful force.

"Business has been wonderful. We've been open almost three months and our name, I didn’t realize, is being passed around so much in a good way," said Mitchell. "They'll say, 'Oh I heard about you on the radio,' or 'I read about you in the Red & Black'... People are spreading the word around, which is nice."

For Mitchell, this success of Cakewalk has carried a much greater importance than just financial, as it has meant finding a home in the Athens community.

"I have been around the world. I've lived in different places. The welcome feeling that has been extended to me by Athens is unlike any place I've ever been," said Mitchell. "It is just the most wonderful feeling to be surrounded by other businesses that welcome you with open arms and my customers are the same exact way. They come in, they make me laugh, we have coffee together... I can't imagine doing this any place other than Athens."