Taking the Cake: Fat Cake Guy

eat. drink. Mississippi
March / April 2012

When Jim Stewart got out of bed one Saturday morning in June 2007, he had no idea that by the end of the weekend he would be the new owner of a candy store.  Stewart and his wife Ginnia decided to run errands that afternoon, ending up near Candy’s Confections on Old Fannin Rd. in Brandon.  Noticing the door to the store was left propped open, the couple decided to step inside.  Next thing they knew, the current owner was making them an offer.

“My wife and I decided to go home that night and talk about,” revealed Stewart, who at the time was working as a safety manager for a trucking company in Clinton, but had spent several years working in the food industry.  “The next day we went back and did an inventory and Monday morning I quit my job.”

Because the name Candy’s Confections was already well-known within the community, the couple decided to keep the name.  Baking was a service that the previous owners offered, but gourmet candy and sweets had always been the main focus of the business.  Eventually, Stewart began to notice more demand for custom-made cakes.  In September 2011, the Stewarts decided to close the original location and move into a larger facility on Lakeland Drive in Flowood.  The store re-opened as Fat Cake Guy a week later.

Fat Cake Guy offers a variety of custom designed-cakes for any occasion including weddings, birthdays, baby showers and corporate events.  Their cakes range from decorated sheet cakes to 3-D cakes (to date, his most elaborate 3-D cake has been a replica of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek) and come in any flavor imaginable from traditional white to red velvet to hummingbird.

“Now days with Google, if I can find a recipe for it, I’ll make it,” says Stewart.

Fat Cake guy is more than just a bakery, however.  Not forgetting their roots, the store still offers a large selection of bulk candy items in addition to gourmet chocolates, brownies, cupcakes, and iced cookies.  Both adults and children can pull up a bright orange bar stool and enjoy a “candy cocktail” at the Candy Bar.  These non-alchoholic beverages, comprised of soda and flavored Italian syrup, are served in brightly colored hurricane glasses with candy fruit garnishment and fun, squiggly straw.  Patrons can try a frappe freeze, which is a non-caffeinated drink made of crushed ice, milk, and chocolate or caramel syrup.

Parents looking for a fun and creative idea for their child’s birthday need to look no further.  Not only can Fat Cake Guy bake the cake, but they can host the party as well.  Each guest is given a four-inch, iced cake that they can decorate any way they want with icing, candy or sprinkles.

Looking back over the unexpected turn of events that brought him from a safety expert to cake baker and decorator extraordinaire, Stewart adds, “Almost five years later, we are still going strong.  It has been a lot of fun and I hope to keep it up.”

Fat Cake Guy
5352 Lakeland Drive #2000
Flowood, MS 39232
601-992-9623
Website

Hours:
Monday – Thursday 7am – 7pm
Friday – Saturday 7am – 8pm
Sunday – Closed