Luke’s Custom Cakes finds a (storefront) home in Hamilton
Luke Heizer’s first custom cake order came pretty early: in elementary school, this Trenton native was already an ambitious baker and cake decorator at home. His mom showed pictures of his creations off at work when he was 12 years old, and a coworker placed an order for an upcoming birthday.
“I was surprised, since it was an order for two cakes,” Heizer recalls. “But I said yes! I’ve always been a fan of cake decorating and other baking shows, and I was always getting cookbooks out of the library to find new things to try.”
Since childhood, Heizer’s time spent in the kitchen has varied, but after high school, he found work in a grocery store’s bakery as a cake decorator, all while seeing custom orders roll in on the side. Baking and decorating became a major undertaking, especially when he began delivering cakes to Miami University in Oxford.
In 2020, it became clear that, if there was this much business with very little advertising beyond having a Facebook page, a storefront had the potential to be both a hub for the custom cakes and a source of new foot traffic business.
A city official from Hamilton had been ordering cakes from Luke’s for some time already, and he mentioned to Heizer that there were available storefronts in downtown.
“We needed a place that wouldn’t have a big renovation to get ready,” Heizer explains. “We saw the location and the kitchen in the former True West location, and we knew we could make it work.”
The space that formerly housed True West Coffee in downtown now includes both the original back kitchen and a separate cake decorating room behind a bright counter. A refrigerated case holds cupcakes and other sweets that can be purchased without pre-order, though the business will continue making custom orders.
After a few months of build-out, they held their grand opening on August 6th, welcoming downtown Hamilton to taste the treats.
“One of our most popular flavors is chocolate chip cookie dough,” Heizer says. “We mix edible cookie dough into the buttercream and crumble up cookies into the cupcake batter. We started offering a naturally-flavored orange cake that has also been really popular and now we make it all the time.”
He draws inspiration from the requests from customers, as well as the many cake decorating ideas he finds online.
“I’m a big fan of Pinterest, and I can find all kinds of ideas there,” he says. “I get some pretty surprising custom order requests, and when I see the picture I’m not always sure I can do it, but I take the challenge and do my best.”
Heizer is only 22 years old, and one of the lessons he’s learned from building his business is that everyone has their own path. At no point did he assume he would be creating a storefront, he just kept seeing where the business led him and what there was demand for when it comes to cakes.
He has taken some college coursework, but he is excited to be in business, working with his hands and creating special memories for his customers.
For other entrepreneurs like himself, he recommends that they surround themselves with a team of others who care about them the way his friends and family have supported him over the years.
“A support network is key – I’ve been doing this business with my Mom this whole time, and she now does all the baking so I can focus on the decorating,” says Heizer.
Luke’s Custom Cakes, located at 221 High Street, also sells a limited selection of beverages and some local merchandise like shirts from Unsung Salvage and cake-scented candles from Petals and Wicks. If you’re looking for a last minute celebration stop, they have you covered with products like birthday candles and helium balloons.
Stop by and try a beautifully decorated sweet treat while supporting a local entrepreneur.