Family Celebrates 50 Years of Painting Cakes
By Tom Wilemon
CAKE SPECIALIST: Chris Faherty is the third generation of his family to work at Mary Carter Decorating Center, a cake decorating specialty store at 3205 Summer Ave. — PHOTO BY TOM WILEMON
– Chris Faherty
Manager, Mary Carter Decorating Center
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays
Employees: 5
Location: 3205 Summer Ave.
Web site: www.bakingstuff.com
Switching from selling paint to specializing in cake decorating supplies may seem like a risky proposition, but the family behind Mary Carter Decorating Center made it work.
This small business in Highland Heights at the corner of Summer Avenue and Malcomb Street celebrates its 5oth anniversary this month – the first chapter as a Mary Carter Paints franchisee and the second chapter as a cake decorating specialty store.
“A small business making it 50 years – especially switching industries – says something,” said Chris Faherty, manager of the business and grandson of its founders.
The switch doesn’t sound like such a stretch to hear him tell it.
“We are no bakery,” he said. “We are more like a Lowe’s or a Home Depot. If you want to do it yourself, if you want to do it with high quality, you come to us.”
Family affair
Faherty’s father, Jim Faherty, teaches cake decorating, and his mother, Kathy Faherty, shares her expertise of candy. The candy classes are free, but the tuition for the five weeks of cake classes is about $50 plus supplies.
A newlywed since New Year’s Eve, Chris Faherty said he hopes his wife, Toni, also will enjoy working in the business.
The shelves of the store are filled with pans, cookbooks, icings, fillings and just about any other kind of cake decoration that can be imagined. Behind the counter, there’s three generations of family pictures including childhood photographs of Chris Faherty.
His grandparents, Leo and Ruth Faherty, started the business as a paint franchise. However, they decided to find a new focus when the Mary Carter Paints label was discontinued during the 1960s.
“My grandmother branched off into cake pans, some chocolate molds and chocolate and she just kept on going,” Chris Faherty said. “She really loved to bake and do cooking. That’s kind of how we got our start.”
His mother worked in the store and brought him along. His first task was painting small plaster holiday pins of turkeys, pumpkins and leprechauns. After he graduated college, his father gave him another task – to build a Web site.
Faherty told his father he had a buddy who could do that.
“I don’t want a one-page Web site,” Faherty said his father replied. “I want the whole store on a Web site.”
Faherty had a degree in marketing, not Web design. He went back to school to learn the skills to bring the business into the Internet age.
Fulfilling cake desires
The store’s Web site, www.bakingstuff.com, is a total e-commerce site. Everything the store offers can be accessed on the site. Recipes are also available, such as apple caramel cake, a creation by Kathy Faherty.
Most of the sales still come from walk-ins, Chris Faherty said, but many of those customers come because they know the store has what they want.
Other customers come because they don’t know what they need. These are the people who want to serve cakes in the shapes of pyramids, football stadiums or other creations.
“They have a really good imagination, and they come in here to learn how to construct the thing,” Faherty said. “They know what they want to do, but they don’t know if they need a dowel rod here or there or what type of cake plate to use. We wouldn’t want their cake to fall.”
However, many longtime customers are more traditional bakers like Betty Wilson. Her specialties are coconut cakes and German chocolate cakes.
“They have all kinds of supplies for icings, for candies, for fillers that you put between the layers,” Wilson said. “All those products are good. They make suggestions on what not to do so you won’t have a problem.”
She said she still remembers the first advice she received at the store from Ruth Faherty.
“I came in because I was having trouble decorating my cookies,” Wilson said. “My purple icing kept turning blue. She told me to put milk in the purple and it keeps it from turning blue.”
Handmade gifts are the best kind, particularly when they’re edible and prettily packaged. Offering them to friends is much more than a small gesture — it’s a personal one, showing the best sentiments of the season.
Making handmade chocolates and candies may seem like a daunting task, but it’s not.
Generations of customers of Mary Carter Decorating Center know all the tricks, thanks to the helpful staff at this East Memphis store. Four times a year, staff members at this family-owned candy and cake decorating supply store are happy to show you how easy the process can be in one of their free candy-making classes. It’s a tradition they have offered for almost 30 years.
The Christmas holiday class is Saturday afternoon. Chocolate-dipped Oreos, peppermint crunch, candied apples, chocolate-dipped pretzels and chocolate-covered cherries are a few of the many treats attendees will learn how to make.
“Homemade candy is the perfect gift for the holidays,” third-generation owner Chris Faherty said. “Candies are great for teacher presents as well as to give to friends and extended family members. Since you can go as expensive or as inexpensive as you want, you can give something to everyone on your list.”
Making holiday treats is also a tradition that can bring families together.
“We have moms and daughters that take our classes together,” Chris said. “It’s also a great activity for grandmas and grandkids to do together. I remember making candy with my own grandmother over 30 years ago.”
The class
Chris’ wife, Toni Faherty, teaches the classes, with her mother-in-law, Kathy Faherty, at her side. Kathy started the tradition of teaching these classes with her husband, Jim Faherty, back in the late 1980s.
“My mom taught this class for years,” Chris said. “I think she loves being the assistant now that she is retired.”
As Toni teaches the specific treats on her menu for the class, she shares all the tips you will need to know when melting chocolate for candy making.
The tips may sound simple, they’re key for success.
For example, do not overheat your chocolate. Hot water is all you need to melt the chocolate; never put it over boiling water. Also, make sure your equipment is completely dry. Moisture can cause the chocolate to seize and become hard.
“Toni covers the basics, but also teaches some more challenging recipes like the candied apple,” Chris said as he pointed to a perfectly pearlized candied apple Toni made as a sample.
For the chocolate-covered cherries at the upcoming class, Toni plans to show how to add flavors like margarita and Jack Daniel’s to the confection.
“She will be using our new private label line of flavors,” Chris said. “This line has flavors our customers were asking for, and I couldn’t get anywhere else.”
With a smile on his face, Chris said one of his personal favorites in the works for this upcoming class is his mother’s apple caramel cake. It’s a cake covered in caramel that Chris can’t resist.
After each class, guests have a chance to sample the candies demonstrated. The staff is also on hand to help you determine what supplies and ingredients you may need to make your favorites at home.
Candy-making supplies
In addition to everything a baker might need for cake decorating, Mary Carter sells an extensive selection of chocolate and candy-making supplies.
An entire wall of the shop is lined with candy-making molds and their online store, bakingstuff.com, offers more than 500 candy molds.
In addition to helpful and knowledgeable customer service, one of the things that makes Mary Carter stand out among its competition is the quality of chocolate used — they carry a line of candy-making chocolate from Clasen Quality Chocolate.
“This line tastes better than the brands of chocolate you find at larger chain stores,” Chris said.
The chocolate is what is called “tempered” chocolate. This type of chocolate is specially made for candy making, and it comes in easy-to-melt wafers. Often called “candy melts,” it will set up with a chocolate candy texture after melting. No need for you as the end user to have to temper the chocolate — a process where one melts and then lowers the temperature of the chocolate. It’s already done for you, making your candy-making process almost foolproof.
All in the family
Mary Carter Decorating Center started as a paint business back in the 1950s. Longtime customers will remember the exterior sign at the original location on Summer Avenue read “Mary Carter Paints,” with no mention or reference to the baking and candy-making supply emporium inside.
“My grandmother Ruth could sell anything to anyone,” said Chris of how the family business began the shift to a candy and cake supplies. “She went to a candy tasting and came back with a hundred pounds of chocolate. She and my grandfather Leo started selling it alongside the paint, and eventually their business became half paint and half candy.”
In 1984, Ruth and Leo Faherty’s son Jim and his wife, Kathy, took over the business. A few years later, the couple decided to focus solely on candy and cake supplies.
The free candy-making classes originally started as a marketing tool.
“My dad knew there was a cost to put it on, but he also knew the importance of showing customers how to try something they hadn’t tasted or didn’t know about before the class,” Chris said.
The idea worked. Every year, it’s a standing-room-only crowd of both new and returning customers at each of the classes.
If you go
Mary Carter Decorating Center
Where: 733 N. White Station Road
When: 1-3 p.m. Saturday
Phone: 901-682-8585
Online: bakingstuff.com
Cost: Free. Mary Carter’s candy classes are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. No pre-registration is required. Participants should arrive at least 30 minutes early to guarantee a seat.