Kelsey Shepard, owner of Cleveland-based Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes, recently announced the closure of her Avon Lake storefront location through a heartfelt social media post on the brand’s Instagram page. The storefront, which was Shepard’s first shop, is understandably dear to her, and she is upset at the sudden impending closure.
“I can’t go back into my first shop and relive all those memories,” says Shepard. “They’ll have to be pictures, and that’s definitely really tough. I’m looking forward to the new plans, but it’s going to be a hard day for sure. It’s very bittersweet.”
The impending Kelsey’s closure was prompted by the building’s landlord selling it to a new out of town owner, who plans to turn it into a nail salon.
“I know it’s going to be emotional,” says Shepard. “And it’s really tough to say goodbye to all those memories that we’ve had there for years; you know, all the fun things and all the great people that I’ve met along the way. It’s fun as you grow a business to always be able to kind of come back to where it started and see that tangible difference of ‘Wow, this is where we started and this is where we are.’ And I kind of feel like they’re taking that away from me.”
There was less time for tears, however, as the next day Shepard announced plans via social media for a new storefront location in Bay Village. The new location is also near and dear to her heart, Shepard says.
“It’s not a coincidence that we have to be opening up [a new location] and we knew that we wanted some locations to still serve the ‘north to I-90’ group with Avon Lake and Bay Village, and so we looked for other sites on the lake but couldn’t find anything that we needed for our time frame,” says Shepard.
“So then we started looking in what’s close to Avon Lake, and there was a great spot in Bay Village that popped up and became available. I mentioned [in my social media posts] that my grandparents lived in the Village all my life, and my sister and I went to St. Raphael’s and it definitely holds a special place in my heart.”
As the Avon Lake location closes on July 20, Shepard is expecting the new location to open around late August.
“I feel excited about the new venture," she says. "And I know that it’s definitely going to be a blessing in disguise. I’m quite confident that the new store will do well, I’m more just emotionally not looking forward to the last day in Avon Lake; it’s really tough to say goodbye to all those memories.”
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