A shopfront that began as a nervous experiment on Saturdays is about to celebrate its first birthday, with the woman behind New England Cake Co. crediting the Armidale community for turning a side hustle into a full-time business.
Owner Kattie Hanks started out baking from her home kitchen in Tamworth before moving to Armidale, her husband’s hometown, in May 2025. She had been applying for jobs at the time but had another idea in mind.
“I had decided I didn’t know how, but I will be opening a cake shop up here,” Ms Hanks said.
She spent four months planning and researching before renting a shared kitchen and taking orders online. Within six weeks, she had outgrown the space and moved into a building on Miller Street, with no plan to open a shopfront until customers kept walking in asking for treats on the spot.
“In December I decided to give it a go and open just on Saturdays; by the end of February we started opening three days a week,” Ms Hanks said.
Getting the shop ready was not easy. Ms Hanks was still applying for other jobs just days before the official opening, unsure whether anyone would come.
“When I took the lease on my building, I had a full calendar of custom cakes and events. I worked on them through the night and then fitted out the shop during the day; myself, my friends and family got it looking how it is now in 4 weeks,” she said.
The first booked order, for a friend’s sister, did not feel like a true test of interest at the time. But the business quickly found its community. One customer who ordered a birthday cake that very first weekend came back again this year for another.
“It felt so special,” Ms Hanks said.
Since then, some of the busiest moments have come around Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, when regular customers and those ordering custom cakes for their families all place orders in the same weekend.
“Looking at a list of 60+ people and recognising all of their names, feeling grateful for the returned business,” Ms Hanks said of the highlight.
Pressed flower cakes have become an unexpected signature for the business over the past year. Ms Hanks now sources her pressed blooms locally, from Bonnie at A Blooming Obsession.
“I’m proud to say we have a local supplier for our pressed blooms now, which is so amazing,” Ms Hanks said.
To mark the first birthday, New England Cake Co. has added special items to the menu, including a birthday cake cupcake and the NECC brownie. From Thursday, 17 September to Saturday, 19 September, customers who bought anything in store could enter their name and number into a draw. One winner will be drawn after the shop closes, taking home cake for a year.
Ms Hanks said the support of the Armidale region had made the first year possible.
“I am so grateful to be doing this in a community that supports small businesses as much as Armidale does. Businesses help each other out and everyone gives small businesses a chance. The people of the Armidale region are so friendly and welcoming; I am blessed to be trusted in creating these cakes for their events and being commissioned for my art,” she said.
New England Cake Co. is open Thursday to Saturday at Shop 1/156 Miller Street, Armidale.
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