Couple swings for the fences with Tega Cay bundt cake concept

It’s the recipe for the perfect business plan: traditional baking techniques and cake flavors topped with the sweetest cream cheese icing, with a large serving of love and a dash of inspiration from Grandma.

Tia and Jim Davis opened their third Nothing Bundt Cakes in Stonecrest Village in Tega Cay Oct. 23. The Davises also own the stores on South Kings Drive and Rea Road in Charlotte.

But Fort Mill is now their home, and bringing the Midwest-based chain here was, well, a piece of cake.

“For this opportunity to arise so close to home, it’s been a blessing,” said Tia, who was a stay-at-home mom before she became a bakery owner. “We’re seeing good numbers – every day has been better. It’s been a whirlwind and it’s so much fun to be here.”

Nothing Bundt Cakes is exactly what the name suggests: made-from-scratch bundt cakes in 9 traditional flavors, including red velvet, chocolate chocolate chip, lemon and carrot. The chain is famous for its thick frosting petals made with velvety cream cheese and real butter.

The bundts are available in several sizes, ranging from the mini Bundtlet, which serves 1 to 2 people, to a 10-inch cake, which serves 18-20. Bundtinis are bite-sized cakes sold by the dozen. The store also offers cake platters, mugs, candles, cards, balloons and seasonal decor for any celebration.

“We’re a one-stop shop,” Tia said.

Tia and her sister, Alicia Cruz, who stopped by the store recently to congratulate Tia on her latest venture, baked with their grandmothers when they were young. But Tia said she “never, ever, ever” thought she’d own a bakery and had never heard of Nothing Bundt Cakes until visiting one in Dallas.

“I fell in love at first sight,” she said. “You just walk in the door and want to smile.”

She underwent 30 days of training, learning how to bake the cakes from scratch and mix the frosting and opened her first store in Charlotte in 2014. Since opening the stores, the Davises have had the opportunity to hold charity sales to benefit organizations ranging from childhood illness to the American Heart Association and March of Dimes.

The Davises are gearing up for the holidays, their busiest season. The seasonal cake flavor, pumpkin spice, will be available through November. Then the chain will debut a new flavor nationally for Christmas – peppermint chocolate chip.

A grand opening is planned at the Tega Cay location Nov. 12. Festivities include a “cake-a-palooza,” giving customers the chance to sample every flavor. Residents should look for coupons in the mail, offering a free Bundtlet as a sweet introduction to the bakery.

For Tia, her favorite flavors are the chocolate chocolate chip and pecan praline. Her sister, Cruz, loves the gluten free chocolate chip cake, made with rice flour.

“I’m not gluten free, I’m a chocolate lover,” Cruz said. “But it’s like a chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Couple swings for the fences with Tega Cay bundt cake concept."