Celebrating One Year: Mom & Pop’s Cakery

This story is brought to you by Live in Everett Member Juanita "Nita" Dawson LMT/MMT

Photos: Rachel Weathereholt

Colleen and her husband Chris are celebrating a 1st anniversary on Valentine’s Day this year. Actually, it’s not their anniversary, but it is the anniversary of their little labor of love: Mom and Pop’s Cakery.

The boyfriend and I wandered into Mom and Pop’s Cakery one cool January afternoon in search of that evening’s dessert. I’m easily enamored by cool vintage hardware and the elaborately decorated push plate on the front door immediately sucked me in, so much so that I nearly thought the door was locked, even though there were open signs and a smiling Colleen just inside. Eventually, I found the doorknob and entered the wonderfully cozy and beautiful space. Colleen greeted us warmly as if we were friends entering her home kitchen. There are many gorgeous things to look at in the space, especially the treats in the cases.

Before opening the shop, Colleen made cake pops for fun and worked as a dental assistant. She would hand out molar-shaped cake pops as treats to all the dental students. She was churning out thousands of cake pops and eventually, she started baking cookies and cakes for special events. Her baking took off and she opened a small home-based baking business. But high-volume baking takes space and it wasn’t long before Colleen outgrew her home kitchen.

Colleen and Chris have always wanted to own a business together so they embarked on a journey to find a little space to build the kitchen and coffee shop of their dreams. They found this tiny spot at 1407 Hewitt Ave with potential but was very run-down. Seeing this venture as their retirement, they answered Opportunity, who was loudly knocking on the door. They officially took over the space in June 2019.

As renovations began, they started to uncover the history of the 120+ year old building and they decided to bring it back to its old glory. With Colleen and Chris doing the work themselves while working full-time jobs and dealing with the challenges from Covid, it took them five years to complete. Colleen said the process was challenging, yet so unbelievably rewarding, and…they won a Monte Cristo Award from the city of Everett. I think that’s the perfect testament to a job well done. The couple laid a beautiful tile entry floor, hung wallpaper reminiscent of the original wallpaper (ask her to show you the original paper!), uncovered all the beautiful brickwork, removed the second floor, and hung gorgeous ceiling tiles.

The shop name is a nod to mom and pop, Colleen and Chris, who worked hard to make this space a spot for families to enjoy sweet treats, play pinball, drink coffee, and enjoy the building's history.

February 14th is their 1st anniversary of opening and if you stop by during open hours of 11am to 7pm, you can help them celebrate with free cake pops. Grab some cookies and mini cakes while you are there; it is an anniversary celebration, and Colleen makes some of the best in town.

Mom and Pop’s Cakery
1407 Hewitt Ave
Everett, WA 98201
(425) 923-9822