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Pooler Magazine

Cake Corner Bakery

Cake Corner Bakery Creates Pooler’s Best Baked Treats

Story by Cindy Reid  |  Photography by Emily Roscher

Nestled just off of Highway 80 in Pooler, there’s a charming bakery that creates some of Pooler’s favorite baked goods: Cake Corner Bakery. Customers are greeted by their sign which changes messages from time to time. At the moment, it says, “The more you weigh the harder you are to kidnap. Eat cake!”

The customers don’t need to be told twice. When they step through the bakery’s red door, they are greeted by friendly faces and the shelves of mouth-watering cakes, cupcakes and cookies on display.

The best-selling items include classic red velvet cupcakes, cake squares—slices of yellow cake iced with white buttercream frosting and garnished with a delicate buttercream flower—and their famous seven-layer chocolate cake. The cake is sold by the slice in the shop but can also be ordered as a whole cake. 

A Reputation for Quality

Cake Corner has been making custom cakes and sweet treats for all occasions and selling supplies for home bakers for more than 35 years.

The bakery opened in 1985 and was originally owned by Mary Graham and Julia Wilson. They quickly built a reputation of providing delicious and beautiful cakes for all occasions, with word of mouth bringing in new customers.

The current owner, Donnie Dimick, bought the business in 2005 after being a loyal customer for many years, and has carried on the bakery’s legacy together with his business partner Talmadge Fries.

Talmadge handles the operations side, while Donnie handles the creative side.

“I love being able to use my creativity to decorate cakes,” Donnie says.

Donnie started making cakes 30 years ago when his sister bought him a cake decorating class for his birthday. From there, he was hooked on this delicious three-dimensional artform. He honed his craft working for other cake shops like the bakery at Sam’s Club, which helped him learn how to make cakes quickly.

His speed and efficiency is helpful during the bakery’s highest volume week: Thanksgiving. Donnie estimates that the bakery fills 300-400 orders in that week alone, working for days to get it all done.

Changing Trends

Cake trends have evolved over Donnie’s career. For example, fondant has become more popular in cake designs, but customers sacrifice flavor in the name of aesthetics.

“Customers want the fondant style, but they don’t want the fondant taste,” Donnie says.

Donnie calls himself “old-school” because he works with classic buttercream frosting, but he is able to work wonders with the medium.

Weddings, Retail, and So Much More

Wedding cakes are a staple of Donnie’s business, and he estimates that he has made more than 1,000 of them over his career. They do 8-10 wedding cakes each month and make more than 100 cakes each week for retail sales. On the weekends, they work on custom orders.

Customers have brought all kinds of requests to Donnie to replicate in edible form. He’s made cars, replicas of the iconic armadillo cake from Steel Magnolias and wedding cakes with 6-7 tiers, but one of the craziest designs he’s ever made was a cockroach.

Whatever design idea or special occasion brings people to Cake Corner Bakery, Donnie focuses on making a consistent product that creates repeat customers.

“We always try to please the customer. As long as you’re focused on that, they always come back,” Donnie says. “I’ve done cakes for baby showers and the same babies that were born, I’ve done their graduation cakes. I’ve grown with my customers throughout their lives from birth to graduation to weddings.”

A Labor of Love

Running a bakery is not always as sweet as it seems. There is a lot that goes into operating a business—like long hours that can be physically and mentally taxing and weathering times of uncertainty.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Donnie says. “Make sure it’s something you love to do. If you don’t enjoy it, it’s a waste of your time.”

Donnie credits his faith, his family, his employees and his customers for keeping him going over the years. His sister, DeeDee Shearouse, works as a baker, and his parents were also involved with the business. His father, Don Dimick, worked in the bakery until his death in 2020, and his mother, Nancy Dimick, still helps out.

He also has several hardworking staff members, including Susan Doss, who has been working with him for 14 years.

“What keeps me going is the Lord. Without Him I couldn’t do all this,” Donnie says. “My wife, my business partner, and my workers also motivate me to keep going and not give up. Seeing happy customers also gives us encouragement.”

Awards and Accolades

In addition to being named Best of Pooler in both the Best Cake and Best Dessert categories, Cake Corner Bakery has previously received accolades from the Greater Pooler Area Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Pooler in both 2018 and 2019, winning Best Table, Best Dessert and Best Overall each year.

“It’s an honor. We appreciate the people who support us,” Donnie says.

While Cake Corner doesn’t have a website, they consistently receive rave reviews on social media, and they were named a Neighborhood Favorite on Nextdoor.

Find them on Facebook at The Cake Corner, Pooler GA, where they share photos of some of their creations.

Cake Corner Bakery
912.748.5952
105 Moore Avenue
Pooler, GA 31322