Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Gonzalez.
Linda, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was 10 yrs. old when my “Tia Bebe”…Gloria Alvarez….started teaching me how to decorate cakes, I loved it! She also taught cake decorating classes at Veterans Memorial Community Center in Culver City. I would go with her to learn and help her as best I could. I was 12 when she first opened the shop in 1972 in a tiny strip mall on the corner of Cardiff & Venice Blvd. in Culver City. After about 3 yrs., she moved the shop to a property she owned just north of Venice Blvd. on Sawtelle Avenue. It was a small house, but zoned R3 for business as it was right off Venice Blvd. The house became the store and the garage in the back ended up being where they gave cake decorating classes. The store was there for approximately 32 years.
Gloria’s decision to open the shop came about because her cake decorating students couldn’t easily find all the supplies they needed to complete her course. She found herself driving around to the various vendors to get enough supplies to have for her students, who were mostly working moms (classes were held in the evenings). After a while, she figured there was a need for this as there had to be other bakers in the area with the same problem…. thus, Gloria’s Cake & Candy Supplies was born – 1972!!
I worked summers at Gloria’s through high school, then got married and worked in the corporate world for many years, but always making cakes for friends, family, weddings, etc. My aunt Gloria and I were very close and lived near each other, and over the years I gave her marketing/advertising/social media/community relations advice and suggestions for growing the business. Some she embraced and some she didn’t…. she was very old school…very sharp, astute business woman. I totally loved and admired her. In 2007, she made the decision to retire and asked me if I would be interested in purchasing the business. We agreed and opened escrow. But, then she found the big retail space on the corner of Washington Blvd. & Colonial Ave, just west of Centinela Avenue. She got VERY excited about the space and asked me to cancel the escrow for now, that she wanted to move the shop to this new space and enjoy it for “a couple more years.” I obliged seeing how excited and happy she was. The shop opened on Washington Blvd in August 2007, it was 2700 sq. ft., big corner unit with lots of window exposure…great storefront. She was having a kitchen built in the back half of the space so she could do cakes and cupcakes to order…catering only…. not a bakery. Unfortunately, in June 2008, less than a year after moving the shop and before the kitchen was finalized, Gloria suffered the first of several strokes which left her partially paralyzed and bedridden by the end of the year. Various cousins, her niece, granddaughter and great granddaughter continued to operate the store in her absence and eventually took over as owners. My beautiful aunt Gloria passed in April 2012.
In early February last year, I went in to get some things to make chocolate lollipops for Valentine’s Day, and when I walked in, my cousin looked at me and said, “Oh my gosh, we didn’t think of calling you?” I asked what she was talking about and that’s when she let me know that the lease on Washington was expiring May 31st and they had all decided not to renew and to close down and go out of business!! Nobody wanted to continue the business!! I went home very upset and discussed it with my wonderful husband who reminded me that Gloria was selling it to me at one point, did I want to see if they would sell it to me?? So that’s what we did, I made an offer they accepted! I set about finding a new space (our current location) and on Friday, May 27, 2016 escrow closed and we had our Grand Opening here on Saturday, June 4, 2016!!
Has it been a smooth road?
It was an established business, however, with my aunt’s illness and passing, some of the heart & soul of the business was lost with her. Everything was a bit outdated, i.e. some of the inventory, the website for sure, displays, etc. I set about giving the shop and everything related to it a new look, designed a new logo, chose new bright & lively colors, changed attitudes & the way of looking at the business, and most importantly improved on customer service.
My struggles have been to learn how and when to order inventory, staying on top of new products and decorating methods that are constantly coming out and evolving. Competing with online sellers who can often times offer the same products for less, but end up about the same once you add in shipping & handling costs. Also, I’m finding a lot of people still want to come in and see and hold and touch for themselves, whatever new items we have or come out.
Thank God and my loyal clientele…. we are doing very well and now receiving 4 and 5 star reviews!!
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Gloria’s Cake & Candy Supplies story. Tell us more about the business.
We sell everything you need to make, decorate, package and transport your cakes, cupcakes, cookies, chocolates, candies, candy apples, and lots of other goodies. We have –
* Regular and specialized bakeware
* Silicone molds for baking and candy/chocolate making
* Plastic chocolate molds & high temperature candy molds…many unique shapes/themes/bars
* Character pans (i.e. Mickey Mouse, dinosaur, cross, race car, Princess Ariel, Darth Vader, etc.)
* A huge selection of cupcake liners/baking cups
* Novelty decorations for cakes & cupcakes
* Chocolate coverture melts – dark, milk, white, super white, and colors – red, yellow, orange, pink, lavender, dark
& light blue, dark & light green
* Packaging/wraps – cello bags all sizes; foils, cello wraps, wax wraps, bakery boxes, cupcake carriers, candy *
boxes, and a variety of party favor/take out containers
* A full selection of fondant & gum paste, along with the necessary tools, cutters, impression mats, molds & more
* A complete aisle of sprinkles, sugars, non-pareils, shaped quins, chocolate & candy rocks, chocolate coins and other assorted goodies.
* A large selection of bakery emulsions and flavored oils
* Large selection of frosting spatulas and other kitchen tools unique to baking cakes & pastries
* We have decorative luster dusts & edible glitter.
* A huge selection of Americolor gel paste colors, as well as oil candy/chocolate colors, powder colors, ColorMist spray can colors, and air-brush colors.
* We carry a good selection of specialty ingredients, i.e. Tragacanth Gum, Gum Arabic, Ascorbic Acid, Tartaric Acid, CMC/Tylose Powder, Citric Acid, Glucose, Glycerine, Cream of Tartar, Meringue Powder, No-Melt Powdered Sugar, Xantham Gum, Ammonium Carbonate, Tart & Sour, FloCoat, Isomalt Crystals, Bakers Pastry Flour, Hi-Ratio Shortening, Brite-White, Fudge Supreme, piping gel, Apricot tart glaze, Lecithin, Bronze & Silver gelatin sheets, Marzipan, Almond paste, and more.
* We have an entire wall of cookie cutters, all shapes & sizes & themes
* We have two cases full of ready-made edible decorations & flowers to put on your baked & candy goods
* Large & varied selection of candles – numbers, tall, short, colors, sparkling, glitter, themes, sports, licensed
* We print edible images/photos to put on your cakes, cupcakes, cookies & chocolates
* We have classes – Beginning & Intermediate Cake Decorating; Chocolate Class w/Chef Denko (Denko Baking); Fondant Cookie Decorating, Fondant Cupcake Decorating and Fondant Cake Decorating classes
You HAVE to come in and see for yourself – it’s a baker/decorator’s dream store. We are a baking/decorating community…we share ideas, we help each other, we brainstorm…. I have a community board so my home baking/cottage industry & catering customers can pin up their business cards for others to hire them. I’m constantly helping customers design their cakes, later getting pictures from them to show me how everything turned out.
I am most proud of lifting the shop back up from the doldrums and saving it from closing down. My dear Aunt Gloria had worked so hard to establish the shop, I just couldn’t let it close. At the time, I purchased it one year ago, the reviews were pretty bad…1 and 2 star reviews, very negative comments about stock & customer service, but I took the chance. Today, we have pretty much all 4 and 5 star reviews with people complimenting and thanking me for the customer service, patience and advice. I think what makes us stand out is the personal touch we work very hard to provide…you might find some of our items cheaper on Amazon, but nothing compares with coming into the shop, seeing and touching/holding the items in your hand and knowing exactly what you’re going to get, instead of crossing your fingers that what you ordered online is what you actually get and that it’s worth it.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The industry is already shifting to mostly online sales and I’m working hard to keep and grow my clientele, work diligently on and emphasize with my employees the importance of great customer service. With the emergence of the MANY baking and cooking shows on cable and regular TV, there is a need for our little niche business. However, the internet makes it difficult to compete. I think the fact that the store has been around for over 40 years and we have a very strong following, will keep us going for many more years to come. There are a couple of chains starting to expand, but so far, we’re standing our ground. We’ve been embraced by the new neighborhood and our clients continue to follow us. Other similar small shops have folded in surrounding areas and we are the only ones in an approximate 15-20-mile area.
Pricing:
- Our cookie cutters range in price from $1.15-$2, there are none over $2, great selection to choose from.
- Our chocolate molds are all $2.79 each, candy molds $3.72…silicone molds vary in price.
Contact Info:
- Address: 12740 Culver Blvd., Unit C
- Website: gloriascakecandysuplys.com
- Phone: 310.391.4557
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: #gloriascakecandysupplies
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gloriascakecandysupplies/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/glorias-cake-and-candy-supplies-los-angeles
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
