Cake Life Bake Shop sets its debut in Fishtown

Talk about a slow rise.

Nima Etemadi and Lily Fischer have set Saturday, Nov. 5 for the debut of Cake Life Bake Shop in its Fishtown location, nearly 2½ years in the making.

It's at 1306 Frankford Ave. (267-324-5579), next to Bottle Bar East and two doors from Kensington Quarters. Beyond the glass facade, interior by Michael Gruber of Gruber Design Associates includes marble counters and white subway tiles lining the walls up to the aqua color walls and ceiling.

For about four years, the two college friends have been working out of Port Richmond's Globe Dye Works, specializing in wedding and special-event cakes.

The new shop will sell a full menu of savory and sweet pastries, including cookies, scones, pies, muffins, cakes by-the-slice, whole cakes to-go. They will serve Rival Bros Coffee for drip coffee and espresso drinks pulled from a silver La Marzocco GB5.

It's billed as a BYOB - perhaps a beer from next door to pair with a sausage roll.

Fischer was a preschool teacher at Friends Select in 2009 when she decided to cope with a stressful day by baking cupcakes at home. She brought some in the next day. The mommies demanded more.

In 2010, she quit teaching to enroll in the pastry program at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. She and her first business partner won $10,000 on the Food Network's Cupcake Wars.

What started off as a hobby had turned into a side business called A Cupcake Wonderland.

By the time Fischer was called back to compete on Cupcake Wars Champions, the business partners had parted ways. Fischer tracked down Etemadi, who also holds a pastry degree. Though it was only the third time they baked together, they got second place and started planning Cake Life Bake Shop.

Cake Life, meanwhile, survived the short-lived cupcake fad.

The shop will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.