  It doesn’t matter if your day is mundane or requires an over the top celebration, Short North Piece of Cake has got you covered! Follow your sweet tooth to the Short North and you will find everything from peanut butter brownies to elaborately tiered cakes...and so much in between. Owner Laura Harter credits the great success of SNPOC to her team, “the biggest message I want to communicate is that our business is successful due to a “gang” of great employees; girls and boys alike. I could not have the amazing business I do without each and every one of them.” Next time you need something delicious stop in...you will not be disappointed. Read our Q & A with Laura below! Did you jump into this business because you love to bake? I purchased the existing business. While I run the business, help customers and Wedding clientele, I do not bake or decorate our cakes. Hence the necessity for my Gang! Who are your bakers and what are their specialties? Our current bakers are Alexis & Joe and they are doing a great job of rocking out cakes, icings, fillings, cupcakes and all the delicious desserts we carry. Alexis did her externship with us from the Bradford School and has been with us ever since. Joe found his passion in baking after becoming a nurse and we are grateful for his diverse background. We bake everything in house and take great care in the delicious sweets we provide to our customers. What is the quick history of Short North Piece of Cake? SNPOC was started in 1998 by the original owner Brian Hotopp. I started with SNPOC in 2008 in a Customer Service position and quickly fell in love. In 2013 I took over full ownership. We've always been in the same location and have really seen the neighborhood grow and evolve over the years. We help customers celebrate special occasions by making beautiful and delicious creations. We will celebrate 21 years in business this June and we are so proud! What is your favorite item “on the menu”? My favorite all time item is our Peanut Butter Brownie; thick fudgy brownie with a layer of chunky peanut butter and a sweet chocolate frosting to top it off. Decadent and delicious every time! Pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds and it will be off the chart. How much time, on average, does SNPOC spend on completing a wedding cake? All Wedding cakes are different, but on average it takes 3 to 8 hours and we spread that out over a few days. The bakers scale and bake the cakes, fillings and icings, then the cake is split and filled, stacked, and then decorated. We take care of all the deliveries in house and that involves 1 – 2 people on each delivery. It can be as simple as a single cake to drop off or take more than an hour to set up and decorate on site. From May through October we generally take 8 – 10 weddings per weekend. ~ Kendall Jensen About how many pastries, cakes, desserts, items are would you say are baked/sold each week? 700 slower season – 1000 busier season. This number includes everything that we bake from a layer of cake to a chocolate chip cookie. If you could only pick one order/cake/creation as your favorite of all time, what would it be? The Alice in Wonderland cake from November 2016. We were given a sky's the limit birthday cake for one our customers. She has a themed party every year and we've created her cake for 4 years of celebrations. I sketched a design out and worked on the planning and execution of it for week's before the party. It was truly a masterpiece topped off with a suspended tea pot! ~ Megan Anderson What is your go-to Valentine’s Day sweet or treat? We are making Chocolate Sable Hearts! A cocoa sandwich cookie with raspberry cream and ganache filling. Did I mention I LOVE CHOCOLATE?!? The best part is the cookie isn't overly sweet, but has a great cocoa flavor to it. We will have cases full of cutout cookies, cupcakes and cakes for our customers to choose from. As always a custom inscription can be written while you wait to make it personalized. Have you/do you like to/are you ever looking to work with other local and small businesses? I am all about collaboration! I believe we are all stronger together. I have a good relationship with many other bakeries in town; Resch's, Our Cupcakery, Sassafras, Cherbourg, Tremont Goodie Shop, Angry Baker and more. If we are short on something and need it in a pinch, we can call and ask each other. We can't make everything for everyone and we're not always the right fit for every customer so I want to be able to recommend someone who could be. Not only do I eat our treats, I love to try ones from other places too. When we make desserts for an event, I try to incorporate a product from another local business. In the past we've used Watershed, Zaftig Brewery, Middle West Spirits & North Market Spices to pair with our desserts. We have so many wonderful small businesses in Columbus and I love supporting them. Who are some of your favorite woman-owned Columbus companies? Glean, The Table, Wholly Craft & Modern Surprise, Two Caterers, Second Chance Consignment; just to name a few! Columbus is a great town for women owned business and offers many groups who will help us support each other. I'm a member of NAWBO, National Association of Women Business Owners, Columbus Chapter. Women helping women...I simply love it! Who is in your “Girl Gang” and/or who would you add to your dream Girl Gang? Our gang currently consists of: Megan Anderson, Kendall Jensen, Jama Bains, Crystal Hart, Alexis Espie, Faith Beesler, Nikki McNamee, Sierra Martin, Abbey Keating & Terri Jones, but we love our Boy Gang too. It includes Jason Mills (he's been on our staff 6+ years!), Joe Schaer and James Mims. There have been many other valuable employees over the years who have helped shaped us into the wonderful company we are today. I have a very supportive and loving family in my mom, dad, brother, boyfriend and children. Without them this wouldn't be possible for me. How can people book you for their next event? Call us at 614.421.0399. Email at info@shortnorthpieceofcake.com. Or pop in for a visit at 772 N. High Street in the Short North Arts District. Check out Short North Piece of Cake on Instagram, Facebook or online. 
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 Looking for outstanding nail art without the pressure of setting up an appointment weeks in advance? Alisa Becker has got you covered. Zoom Mani, located within Polaris mall, is a walk up location that has serious skills. Zoom Mani may be accessible but that does not come with any less of the frills of a full-scale salon. The designs that leave Zoom are inspired, innovative and remarkably clever. We talked with founder, Alisa Becker to learn more! What inspired you to launch Zoom Mani? I’m constantly coming up with ideas and one happened to be a mani bar. I always loved manicures and nail art, but never knew where to go or how much it would cost. And an appointment? No way. I spent my career in retail – my role was always to find items and trends that would be exciting for customers or things they didn’t know they needed. This seemed like a chasm in the industry. During a night out in Short North, I spotted the Pedal Wagon and thought ‘that should be a nail bar’ and Zoom Mani was born...sans the wheels of course. My vision for Zoom Mani was less about beauty and more about fashion. Manis should make you smile! What things do you see happening next for Zoom Mani? I’m working to build a strategic partnership to help guide Zoom Mani to its next stop. The vision should always be audacious and you just hope to get close. If you were a nail design, what would you be? My nail art is always The Simpsons. I’m invariably rotating characters based on customer favorites. What is your favorite part of going to work everyday? Any service business has the tremendous opportunity to connect with customers in a meaningful way. An employee once thanked me for giving her the opportunity to bring joy to people’s lives. Aside from the personal impact, the creativity is compelling. What are your thoughts on working with other local and small businesses? I love connecting with other small business owners; it’s great to get a feel for headwinds, tailwinds, marketing successes and to spur innovative thinking. Who are some of your favorite woman-owned Columbus companies? The Kitchen. Jeni’s. Brownie Points. Tenfold. Sort & Pack. Eleventh Candle. The higher profile companies – fashion, food, retail – are easier to identify but I’d love to learn more about women-owned businesses with lower visibility (tech, medical, authors, etc..). Who is in your “Girl Gang” and/or who would you add to your dream Girl Gang? When you start a business, you truly see who is supportive and the harsh truth is that it can be alienating and disappointing. My team keeps me motivated to create an inspiring, lighthearted environment. I always recommend creating your own board of directors. Zoom is location in Polaris Fashion Place between Apple and Starbucks. They are walk-in only, if they are busy they will text you when they free up and you can shop while you wait! Get some inspiration and check out special events that Zoom Mani has to offer on Instagram and Facebook or on their website.
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Andrea ArchibaldThe girl behind the gang Archives
May 2019
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