Custom cakes are Melody Sirois and Florence Martinezs specialty at their licensed home bakery in Bristol. 2 Sugar Mamas opened in June of this year, with Sirois doing the baking and Martinez doing the decorating. (Courtesy photo)
In the kitchen, Melody Sirois and Florence Martinez use their skills to split the work in balance: Sirois bakes while Martinez decorates.
What started as a casual collaboration between neighbors has grown into 2 Sugar Mamas, a licensed home bakery in Bristol that offers custom cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies that accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions.
The partnership between the pair began unexpectedly. After Sirois and her family moved into a new home, her landlord, Martinez, discovered her tenant’s passion for baking. While Martinez had a natural gift for design, she admitted she struggled with the baking itself.
Sirois, on the other hand, said she had several years of experience developing recipes, especially gluten-free ones, after being diagnosed with celiac disease six years ago.
“I’m the baker, and I bring my recipes to the table, and then Florence is the decorator, and she brings her artistic touch into things,” Sirois said. “So essentially, I bake the cakes and she decorates them.”
In June of this year, the pair officially launched 2 Sugar Mamas as a licensed home bakery. The arrangement offered flexibility and low overhead, which was critical for Sirois, who balances baking with raising two young children.
“I have found it pretty impossible, honestly, to find a job that would work around my schedule with both of my kids,” Sirois said. “I was trying to find something that could help make us more financially stable, so it wasn’t just my husband who was bringing in income.”
Sirois said running a licensed home bakery kept costs down and made the process straightforward.
“Overall, it was a pretty simple process,” she said. “Where I do have the previous experience of a storefront, I am somewhat familiar with the processes and requirements, and being at home, there’s not a lot for startup costs.”
Sirois and Martinez sell their baked goods locally at Banyan Tree food truck, which is located at Oxbow Brewing Co. on Jones Woods Road in Newcastle on Fridays and Saturdays through the first weekend of October, and Hilltop Stop in Damariscotta. They are also trying to expand to other stores.
In addition to their wholesale contacts, their true specialty is custom orders.
“Custom cakes are really what we’re aiming for, more than anything. And custom cupcakes, we really want that to be our main focus,” Sirois said. “The wholesale contracts are just kind of a way to bring in steady income … So it’s just to give us some financial stability.”
Since launching in June, the business has grown faster than expected, according to Sirois.
“It’s honestly been higher than I expected, which is amazing, and I hope it keeps going that way,” Sirois said.
She hopes to expand the business in the future slowly, and “go with the flow” based on what customers have to say.
For more information, go to 2sugarmamas.com or find 2 Sugar Mamas on Facebook and on Instagram at @2sug_armamas.
Melody Sirois and Florence Martinez use their individual skills to bake and decorate custom cakes and cupcakes. The pair opened 2 Sugar Mamas in June of this year after a chance conversation brought them together. (Courtesy photo)
