The Bake Shoppe plans second location in Waukee
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Chris and Lisa Kannapel. Photo: Courtesy of The Bake Shoppe
The Bake Shoppe, home of Barbara's iconic Champagne cake recipe, is expanding with a second location at the Waukee Triangle.
Why it matters: The dreamy blush-pink cake has been a Des Moines tradition since the 1940s, and demand has grown so much in recent years that co-owner Lisa Kannapel says they need another shop.
What's new: The new shop will be at 420 Sixth St., #120.
- Smaller than the existing Windsor Heights bakery, the space will still carry popular desserts as the business experiments at the new location during its first year.
- Meanwhile, the existing location is also expanding and moving into the space next door.
- Kannapel says the goal at the new shop is to maintain a similar warm, cozy "grandma's house" feel.
Flashback: She and her husband, Chris, purchased The Bake Shoppe in 2021 after spending years renting oven space at the store for their biscotti business.
- The couple both worked as educators for 30-plus years, but when The Bake Shoppe's then-owner David Stark asked if they were interested in buying the business, they said yes.
- With the purchase of The Bake Shoppe, they also got the recipe for Barbara's Champagne cake — a beloved dessert that Stark learned when his family bought Barbara's Bake Shop in 1948.
Since then, the Kannapels have kept the shop largely the same, including scratch-made recipes, a cozy '90s aesthetic and Barbara's Champagne cake front and center, though they've added their own touches.
- What's changed is the growth of the bakery. When they took over, there were four staffers. Now there's 25 — many of them high schoolers and college students returning during breaks. On busy mornings, people are parked and waiting before the doors even open.
What they're saying: At 60 years old and a recent breast cancer survivor, Lisa Kannapel says she wants to try things out without regret.
- "I don't want to look back when I'm 80 and say, 'Man, I wish I would have done that,'" she says.
The intrigue: So what makes the dessert so tempting? She says there's a bit of nostalgia, especially for families who have gotten their birthday cakes from Barbara's since the 1940s.
- It's a pretty chiffon cake with a whipped custard mixture, but it's also very sugary, so if you're not a fan of sweet, she recommends something else.
- "I think it's just a tradition, and it's a celebratory item," she says.
What's next: They hope to open the new shop in May.