By Courtney Taylor
news@wbcowqel.com
With new businesses popping up in Galion recently, one Galionite has taken the initiative to bring a new bakery called Cake and Icing to the city’s storefront.
Born and raised in Galion, Laura Johnson, has been baking with her family since she was a young girl. All the recipes she uses are passed down from her mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law, and made from scratch. It took six months alone to perfect their famous icing. Baking is also a love that her husband, John Harris, shares, and they plan to run the new business together and with help from their older children. Together, Harris and Johnson have four kids. Though Laura previously owned a bakery in Lexington, she gave up the business to be more involved in the events of her kids’ lives. “My littles were just too little at the time,” she says.
The main attraction at Cake and Icing, located at 114 Harding Way West, will be their “cake bar”. Customers can get a cup and choose between different cakes, icings, and toppings for their own personal cake. Other main desserts that will be sold include pies, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, and donuts. Johnson also plans to have a “Featured Item” each week for more extravagant desserts like French macarons, to see what people like and what’s popular. She’ll also be selling beverages like water, soda, and coffee.
Johnson said the reason she chose Galion was because of her love of the town and all its potential.
“We haven’t had a made-on-site bakery in years…I’m just shocked no one has done it,” Johnson explained.
She also has an etsy store (cakeandicingco) where she sells sugar cookie kits that come with cookies, icing, and sprinkles. The fact that the etsy store was becoming too big for her house was one of the reasons Johnson decided to open another bakery. She said, “…to get it out of my house and into a commercial kitchen would just be so much nicer…to have a facility where I can bake and I can create, and to show my daughters that yes, absolutely you can own your own business.”
Once the bakery is opened Johnson noted that her planned hours for the bakery will be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.