The owners of Taste Great Cakes hope to open before Christmas.
WORCESTER — Jason Diaz worked multiple jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
He had his own moving company, but with business shutdowns and sheltering-in-place orders, his clients largely dried up.
Diaz picked up some shifts working for a cable company. That also slowed down, so he decided to fall back on a skill he learned years ago — baking cakes and cupcakes.
Diaz and his wife, Erica, will open Taste Great Cakes at 98 Hamilton St., the former location of Lee’s Bakery.
“I would love to be open tomorrow,” Jason Diaz said. “Realistically, with renovations and permits, hopefully we can open just before the (Christmas) holiday without any setbacks.”
Thursday morning, the License Commission voted 3-0 to give Diaz a common victualer license, a necessity for businesses that serve food.
Beyond custom cakes and cupcakes, Taste Great Cakes will sell items like chocolate-covered pretzels and popcorn, all prepared in a mixture of styles.
“We’re not a traditional cupcake shop,” Jason Diaz said. “We want to bring other things to it. It will be like a carnival fair, stuff we want to offer.”
Hours of operation will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays. The shop is closed Mondays.
When he worked years ago at Lee’s Bakery, Diaz moved up from dishwasher to cake decorator. He passed on his skills to Erica, who started baking cakes for friends and family.
With eight children at home — with the littlest ones homeschooled — the Diaz house is a busy place. To keep the kids happy during the pandemic, Mom and Dad served cakes to their clan.
That experience, and the positive feedback from friends who ate their cakes, provided a natural transition to open a business.
Diaz estimated he and his wife have invested $15,000 to take over the lease and fund renovations. Those include making the front area roomier for customers because Jason Diaz said he’s a guy whose always liked a lot of space.
The plan is to start with order in and take out, with the possibility of adding a few tables down the road.
With multiple trips to City Hall to file paperwork, Jason Diaz wished the process for opening a brick-and-mortar business was more streamlined.
But he’s not complaining.
“It’s been an awesome, fun process. The neighborhood is excited,” he said.
Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @henrytelegram
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