Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Arrieta.
Rachel, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I can’t believe Sugar Ray’s is celebrating seven years of being open this year!! Looking back at where it all started was actually closer to nine years ago. I graduated from Texas Tech University in 2010 with a degree in restaurant hotel and institutional management, not knowing at the time how I would actually end up using that degree! I was working for Lucy Wrubel, who is a DJ in Dallas as her assistant and made one cake for my mom for her birthday (isn’t that how it always starts…) I didn’t (and still don’t) have any formal training in baking and I honestly didn’t even know I was good at it!
My grandma was a great baker and I always loved to cook but I never really fell in love with baking until after I made that one cake for my mom. Soon after that, I was continuously playing around in the kitchen with different recipes and trying to create my own recipes for the staple flavors; vanilla, chocolate and red velvet. Once I had my flavor profiles nailed down and I was picking up a few orders here and there, I walked right into a little coffee house that was being built and about to open called Coffee House Café.
I had a meeting with the chef and manager and took the samples of my cupcakes and they picked me up to provide cupcakes multiple times a week that they would sell at their café. I was shocked and surprised at how fast more and more people were calling me to place orders! I then began providing cupcakes for trunk shows at Neiman Marcus down at NorthPark.
I can honestly attribute all of my business knowledge to my dad, he is the one who has been with me every step of the way and teaching me the smart ways of opening and running my own business. He wanted to ensure that when I did open my own store that it would surely succeed, and for that reason he made me make sure that I was making enough money each month to cover rent before I was even able to start looking at spaces around Plano. Six months after that we were signing a lease in Lakeside market at Preston and Spring Creek. Seven years later, here we are!
Within those seven years, I have been blessed enough to win multiple awards around DFW for my cupcakes and macarons and I have been fortunate enough to compete on two different TV shows; Sugar Showdown on Cooking Channel and most recently Sugar Rush on Netflix, of which we won! These past years have been so great and I have loved every second of owning my little bakery.
Three years ago I got married to my husband Anthony who is actually a Dallas Firefighter (him and his station LOVE when I have any extra cupcakes leftover!) I also had a little girl, Olivia, in December of 2018, only six weeks before I flew out to LA to shoot my episode of Sugar Rush, and I cannot wait for her to be big enough to enjoy this bakery as much as I do, let’s hope she likes sweets!!
Has it been a smooth road?
That is such a difficult question but, overall, I would have to say yes, I think it has been a pretty smooth ride! Of course, just like any other business, there have been some small speedbumps and times where I would step back and reset different aspects of the business to make sure we are current and keeping up with the demand of our customers! I am honestly so thankful that I have such great customers that continue to trust us with their orders for all these years.
I would say the only obstacle has been ensuring that everyone that works for me LOVES baking as much as I do and keeping my kitchen a positive environment where we are all constantly learning and getting to experiment with new flavors and ideas. I feel like monotony is something that no one wants to get sucked into a job and that is why I make sure being at my bakery we are always doing something new and modern to keep us on our toes and keep us an ever-evolving bakery.
Owning and running a bakery is a lot of work, and I think that is misconstrued when people say that they own their own business or work for themselves… people think you can pick your own hours and come and go as you want but in reality, you have to eat sleep and breathe your business and love it day in and day out! What people don’t see behind the scenes is hours of work covered in buttercream and late nights precisely decorating sugar cookies for each customer, whether that is a large company or someone’s 2nd birthday party! Fortunately, I have never had a problem doing this! I love what I do and I love the work, I get to put smiles on peoples faces based solely on a cupcake or cake that we create!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sugar Ray’s Bake Shop – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
We are a gourmet, from-scratch bakery specializing in cupcakes, cakes, cookies and macarons. You can walk in and choose from seven different flavors of cupcakes on a daily basis as well as some amazing chocolate chip cookies and macarons! Cakes are for pre-order and we ask for at least a week to two weeks notice. We are known for amazingly moist cupcakes with some killer flavor profiles as well as some of the best macarons you will ever try!
I think what sets us apart is our constantly changing menus and freshness of everything we make. I have made it a priority that everything you eat from my shop was baked the day you are enjoying it. I cannot stand baked goods that are not perfectly fresh so that Is something I require on a daily basis. I have spent seven years perfecting these recipes and I promise you, we take everything, even down to each ingredient to heart to ensure you are getting the best possible dessert when your at Sugar Ray’s!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Plano, I was born and raised here. I went to Trinity Christian Academy in Addison and then out to Lubbock for College but I was SO excited to get back to Plano. It is such a great city and breeds an enormous amount of loyalty for local shops and restaurants. The only thing I don’t like is how fast we are constantly growing (which I guess is a good thing!) our small-town feel with cows and horses in pastures throughout Plano is slowly going away and it’s so sad to see!! But, with that growth comes so many more locally-owned restaurants and shops, which I love!
Contact Info:
- Address: 4021 Preston Road #624 Plano, TX 75093
- Website: www.sugarraysbakeshop.com
- Phone: 972-403-9200
- Email: rachel@sugarraysbakeshop.com
- Instagram: sugarraysbakeshop
- Facebook: sugarraysbakeshop
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