Dena’s Sweetly Unique Cakes, owned by Dena Reed and based in Beaumont, Texas, specializes in cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, and other baked goods. Reed, a self-taught baker, has created cakes in Beaumont since 1995. Over the years, she has become a respected figure in the cake-decorating community, teaching her craft across Texas and Louisiana.

In 2010, Reed competed on The Learning Channel (TLC) Ultimate Cake Off, where she made a cake honoring firefighters and won the competition. This victory brought her local celebrity status, leading to appearances on local news and in newspapers. Since then, she has competed on TV several times, both as a contestant and as an assistant, and has won numerous baking awards.

Following her win, Reed ran a successful cake business from home for three years. She had a commercial kitchen and several employees, allowing her to sustain the business and pay herself and her staff. However, due to personal circumstances, she had to quit the business, losing access to the commercial kitchen.

For the next decade, Reed held various jobs involving managing people and inventory, including positions as a parts manager at a Bobcat dealership and Sunbelt Rentals, and helping run her husband’s detail shop in downtown Beaumont.

Reed has been making and selling cakes again for the past two years, working from her home kitchen. Her sales have steadily increased, reaching over $41,000 in 2023. Projections indicate she is on pace to make nearly $75,000 this year. Despite this success, she has had to turn away customers daily due to limited capacity.

Reed has long dreamed of opening a brick-and-mortar location. Seeking help, she connected with the Lending Team at Communities Unlimited (CU) after being referred by John Lee at the Lamar University Small Business Development Center. Reed worked with CU Senior Economic Development Loan Officer Chris Ranniger on a loan for buildout and equipment costs and working capital. The funding will come from CU’s partner, the T.L.L. Temple Foundation in the East Texas region, which helped Reed move her business into a retail location.

Reed chose a location in a relatively new shopping center with a ventilation and fire suppression system. The leased space, previously a Cajun seafood restaurant, needed modifications, including professional floor cleaning and wall repainting. Her husband helped with much of the work, including converting a bathroom into a storage room and building a false wall for cake decorating.

Moving to a retail location will allow Reed to expand her product offerings. She plans to add semi-custom cakes and a variety of cupcakes to her menu, which is more profitable and quicker to make. She will also introduce cake pops, made from cake trimmings and with a high-profit margin. While she currently charges $5 per serving for cakes, she plans to increase prices to $7 at the new location.

Reed’s business has a strong local following, with 3,100 followers on Facebook and a 4.9-star rating from 34 Google reviews. She worked with a local marketing professional to enhance her social media presence and leverage her connections with the local Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club to promote her new location.

Reflecting on the start of her business, she says, “I was broke with three kids and wanted to make their birthday cakes because I was too cheap to buy them. That’s what I tell everyone.” She loves the artistic part of making cakes and enjoys that it’s always for a happy event. “In my world, everyone is happy, and I love that,” she says.

Reed approached the SBDC for help in securing a loan to open her business. John Lee from the SBDC was particularly supportive, but the lenders and banks didn’t consider it a good investment. Recognizing the unique loan opportunities available, he recommended CU. Reed felt fortunate for this recommendation, as it enabled her to turn her dream into a reality.

Reed found working with Ranniger to be exceptional.

“Chris was great. He made me feel so comfortable. Whenever I go to a bank, I usually feel like I'm in the principal's office, in trouble for some reason, but I didn't feel that way at all with Chris. He made me feel like we were old friends, and I was super comfortable working with him. He made everything easy. I'm more right-brained, so numbers just aren't my thing. I'm an artist, and my work is an art form. The math and business side of things can be overwhelming for me, but Chris broke everything down simply and easily for me to understand. He never made me feel at a disadvantage for being the way I am. It was great working with him; he was wonderful.”

— Dena Reed, Owner of Dena’s Sweetly Unique Cakes

With her passion, resilience, and the support of CU, Dena Reed has officially fulfilled her dream of making and selling cakes in a brick-and-mortar location. The grand opening of her new location was on Oct. 17.

“I’ve been thinking about this for so long, and now I finally have the chance to do it,” she said.