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Exploring Life & Business with Tom Behnke of Lynn’s Cake and Candy Supplies

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Behnke.

Hi Tom, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The business was established back in the late 1970s. We purchased the store in August 2016. We truly are a family owned and operated business with myself, my wife, and our son working full time and 2 of our other children working part time. We also have a wonderful part time employee who has worked here for over 20 years.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We have experienced some challenges over the past years but I’ll tell you what, when we get to see the look on our customer’s faces when they’ve found the perfect sprinkles or decorations for a special cake or if we’ve been able to teach them how to make chocolate candies, it is totally worth it! It absolutely makes our day when someone comes into our store for the first time and is blown away by all of the cool supplies we have here!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a retail store specializing in everything a person would ever need to decorate cakes & cupcakes, make candies, or create chocolate treats. We provide professional industry products to everyday folks. Our 5,300 square foot store is stocked with 1000’s of cookie cutters, cake & candy packaging, 100’s of sprinkles, flavorings, colorants, molds, & 30 varieties of chocolate. It is commonly referred to as “The Happy Place”. Our customers are everything to us. I remember back when I was a little boy walking down to the grocery store with my Mom and can still vividly recall the owner Sylvester and his checkout clerk Betty greeting everyone with a genuine smile and a warm willingness to help. We strive everyday to embody that same attitude and appreciation for our customers! In this day and age of the cold online buying experience, we have gone the complete opposite direction by fostering an environment where customers are appreciated, valued, and greeted with a smile. We answer questions, we provide insight, we give out samples – doing everything we can to ensure a customer will decorate their perfect cake or successfully make delicious goodies.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The home baker/candy maker will continue to benefit from numerous media outlets featuring their fun craft. For those who give it a try, they soon enjoy the rewarding experience of making something at home that actually looked good and tasted even better! Folks will continue to be exposed to new ideas and fresh styles. The biggest challenge is many people don’t understand the harsh reality of recreating something that appeared perfect and a lot easier on a time-lapsed video versus the “real world” of their home kitchen. Hey, don’t lose heart! We’ll always be here to help and encourage you at your Happy Place!

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