ST. GEORGE — Have your cake and eat it too at this bakery’s grand opening celebration.

Yummy Tummy Sweets Bakery has made a name for itself by creating gourmet desserts and custom orders for both Iron and Washington County residents. The sugar on top? They’re opening an official storefront to offer even more.

Chelsey Durand, the baker and owner behind Yummy Tummy Sweets Bakery, said opening her own bakery has been both a whirlwind and a dream come true. She’s excited to share her gourmet desserts and continue to be an intricate part of people’s special days by providing custom wedding cakes and more.

“I really just want to spread the word that we’re here,” Durand said about the opening. “I’m living my dream. Come support a small business.”

Yummy Tummy Sweets’ grand opening will be Friday-Saturday, May 19-20, from 1-7 p.m. The festivities will include the Ala Chelle Catering food truck — run by Durand’s business partner — a balloon arch, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a variety of desserts including single-slice cheesecake, an array of gourmet cupcakes, brownies and macarons. The mayor may also be in attendance.

Behind the baker

Durand said she began to bake as a teenager and made “obnoxiously crazy cakes” for friends’ birthdays. As she became a wife and mother of two, she took a step back and baked on the side as a hobby. It wasn’t until a year and a half ago that she began to sell her cakes and other specialty desserts to the public professionally. 

For the last year, she’s rented out part of a storefront for custom order pickups and offers catering services such as full dessert bars that include trifle cheesecakes, cake pops, macrons, cookies, brownies and more.

“I customize everything,” she said. “I do like crazy four or five-tiered wedding cakes. I do these crazy geode ones. I do stuff with fondant and all sorts of stuff, which is really fun.”

Having her own business has also allowed her to immerse herself in the community. She’s been seen at many local events including the Pumpkin Festival, where she made 1,500 cupcakes out of one oven. Her cakes and catering options have been seen at many wedding expos. 

As her business took off, Durand said she found herself so busy that she needed to hire an assistant. When one bakery in town closed, she was flooded with even more orders. As she ran the entire business out of her home, it began to take over.

“My husband was like ‘Um, you’re taking up too much space. You need to get a shop,'” she said. “I knew I needed to open a full store and go for the dream. And I feel like now is the time.”

With the bakery set to open, Durand said she will continue to offer custom orders. The bakery is an addition to her current business and will be open daily with gourmet cupcakes, ready-made cakes, brownies, cheesecakes, macarons and cookies.

Durand said she’s thankful for a variety of small grants she’s received to assist in making her dream possible. As one of eight finalists for the SUU Southern Utah State Bank Business Challenge, she was awarded a total of $2,000. She also was awarded Cedar City’s rural development grant of $6,000. The monetary awards she’s received have gone toward equipment costs, which she said has helped tremendously.

Every dessert at Yummy Tummy Sweets Bakery is made fresh daily. Durand said they never cut corners by using premixed items such as box cake mixes and always mix all their own fresh ingredients by hand.

“We make everything 100% from scratch,” she said. “We have this slogan that my husband came up with: ‘We keep it 100,’ because we use 100% real butter, fresh ingredients, made from scratch.”

Yummy Tummy Treats is located behind the All American Diner at 491 S. Main Street, Suite 6 in Cedar City, and is open Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, visit their website or follow @yummytummysweetsbakery on Instagram.

Event details

• What: Yummy Tummy Sweets Bakery Grand Opening.
• When: Friday-Saturday, May 19-20.
• Where: Yummy Tummy Sweet Bakery 491 S. Main Street, Suite 6 in Cedar City.
• Admission: Free.
• For more information, visit the event page.

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