-
Anita Tucker the owner/baker at Pure Cravings Bakery is following her passion to open her own bakery located just across the railroad tracks on Hwy 385 at Mike’s Jerky Place. (Photo by Ann Reagan)
After over 25 years in the retail business, Anita Tucker the owner/ baker at Pure Cravings Bakery is now following her passion to open her own bakery. Mrs. Tucker stated that after years of driving to Clovis every day to work, she wanted to slow the hectic pace of her life.
The bakery is located just across the railroad tracks on Hwy 385 at Mike’s Jerky Place. She explained that her father-in-law and her husband, Terry Tucker, had the foresight to include a bakery for her in the plans for the new Mike’s Jerky Place. When asked how she got into baking, she explained that she loved baking and often made baked goods for family birthdays and gatherings. She developed her skills following Pinterest and other online sites, and kept up with the latest trends and innovations. When she decided to take the plunge, her husband and her father-in-law started the planning and construction of the bakery in May of this year.
The bakery is charming with it’s very own “store front” in the design, and her workspace is a baker’s dream with it’s carefully appointed floor plan. It features two large ovens, a commercial refrigerator, which is a recent upgrade from a residential refrigerator, and neatly organized storage with lots of workspace. The bakery is immaculate. The customer can actually see the space where their orders are created, which is reassuring. As Anita says,” it’s not a “Walmart” cake” because her product has never been frozen for shipping. Her product is always fresh. She stated that she often gets calls from businesses and other organizations inquiring after” what do you have left” and she often sells out. Her experience in the retail business has been an advantage in running her business, because it allows her to insure that her product is always fresh. She has a good idea how much product she will need for the day which prevents over producing items that might end up going to waste.
She gets a lot of customer traffic due to the location. It is convenient for truckers, hunters, and other travelers who are heading north on Hwy 385 and it is also easily accessible to downtown and the schools. Business is probably aided by the fact that the customer smells Mike’s Jerky and sweet treats baking as they enter the building.
Her cakes are usually 3-layer cakes which often provide more individual servings than a standard sheet cake. She even offers instruction information to her customers on how to slice them. She can produce edible images if someone wants a picture on their cake. She seems to bake for her customers as she bakes for her family with a sincere desire to please without compromising on the quality of her product.
She shared a story of a particular gender reveal cake that caused her a bit of anxiety. The customer had told her she would send the test results by text message in pink font if a girl and blue font if a boy. When she received the text -it looked purple on her phone. So she called the customer and had to anxiously wait for the return call before she could finish the cake as the party time approached. Fortunately, they did make the deadline. This was a story she will definitely remember.
She emphatically states that her bakery has been “such a blessing” and she is so grateful to her husband, her family, and to her customers. She is doing something she loves and, so far, she seems to be enjoying the enterprise.