When Marcie and Derek Williams purchased the Arabica Coffee House on Massillon Road in Green this past February, they had two ideas in mind: superior service and fresh ingredients. Marcie, a self-proclaimed "foodie" and owner of Basket Fanfare for over four years, had dreamt of moving her gift basket business into a specialty coffee and tea house and was thrilled when just the right opportunity presented itself in Green. The former Arabica location was the perfect venue to showcase her own gourmet cupcakes, sandwiches, salads, soups, and fresh-baked gift baskets.
Blake's Cafe & Cupcakery, the hip and comfortable locale features a menu with a little something for everyone. Whether you're stopping in for a fresh Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomato Salad, or to try the Mediterranean Chicken Wrap made with homemade tzatzki sauce, or to sink your teeth into Marcie's version of a Pig in a Blanket (a BBQ pork wrap made with homemade coleslaw), you'll be glad you came.
And though these specialties would please any food lover, it's her cupcakes that really take the "cake." You'll have a hard time deciding between The Little Red Corvette (a traditional red velvet cupcake with a tangy cream cheese icing), the Ohio Buckeye (a rich chocolate cake with a creamy peanut butter center and a smooth chocolate ganache topping), and the Caramel by the Sea (a caramel cake with a caramel swirled buttercream icing sprinkled lightly with sea salt).
And these are just a few of Marcie's many specialty cupcake flavors. Since beginning offering cupcakes in May Marcie has added a featured cupcake of the day such as the Friday special, Cherry Godmother (a cherry cake made with fresh sweet bing cherries and cherry butter cream icing) or the Coco-Mond (chocolate cake, coconut cream filling, chocolate ganache icing topped with almonds) which is only on Tuesdays. All of our cupcakes and icings are made from scratch using only real butter, cream, sugar, eggs and the highest quality chocolates,” says Marcie. Since opening, customers have ordered cupcakes for a variety of special events such as weddings, bridal showers, birthday parties, graduation parties and other special occasions.
Of course, the food isn't the only thing that sets Blake's in a class of its own. After all, what would a cafe be without great coffee? Many types of flavored and house coffees have been added over the past couple of months and are rotated on a daily basis. The coffee beans are kept in air tight sealed valve bags and ground fresh daily.
"I worked with a Barista who trained professionally in Seattle to learn the true art of creating the perfect cup of coffee," says Marcie. "We want our customers to appreciate Blake's not only for the food, desserts, and coffee, but also as an ideal place to meet for business meetings, bible studies, after-school study groups and clubs, and socializing with friends.”
There are several groups that meet at on a weekly or monthly basis. Blake's has also been host to bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties as well as other special events. They offer free wireless Internet, a large flat screen TV by the fireplace, and even a private area that can be reserved for meetings.
Blake's started as a fresh baked gift basket business called Basketfanfare and established itself as a business that delivered fresh baked gift baskets as an appropriate gift for any occasion including sympathy, thank you and get well soon! They are preparing for the upcoming holiday season by creating new cupcake recipes and gift basket ideas for their customers celebrations. They have already begun taking orders for corporate gift basket deliveries at Christmas time.
Their current website address is: www.basketfanfare.com and they are in the process of updating a new site www.blakescupcakes.com to include the cupcakes and in store menu.
