Cake Notice Getting A Lot Of Notice In Taylors

It may seem unlikely to some, but a growing number of Taylors residents will tell you that the best cupcakes in town are being created by a former art major who only a year ago started her own baking business.

Molly Simons, 26, opened up Cake Notice on Stallings Road two weeks ago. Cake Notice, which sits just a parking lot away from the popular eatery , serves up custom-designed cakes, as well as a menagerie of cupcakes that are as elegant as they are tempting.

Originally from Boston, Simons left the comfort of her native New England to attend Furman University. She initially arrived in Greenville with the intention of majoring in art, but graduated in 2008 with a degree in communications.

Along the way, she became increasingly good at mastering the art of baking.

"It was just a hobby, but it turned into a business. I just started getting a lot of requests," Simons said.

She made her first designer cake upon request for a Clemson University football tailgate party in 2009.

In February 2011, Simons finalized an LLC for her own business. She first operated the business in a shared commercial space at Cherrydale Point shopping center at Everyday Organic, another specialty food shop. Simons' business outgrew the space quickly, and by summer, she was in the market for a lot of her own.

She wound up in Taylors.

"I knew I liked the neighborhood, the area and the people," Simons said. "And Woodruff Road and downtown is already so crowded.

"I grew up in Boston, walking everywhere I went, so I'm very community-oriented."

Now, she's enjoying the central location of her nascent business, where she  receives a steady flow of custom cake orders from residents in the Pebble Creek community, passersby and even a few students.

Her cupcakes are also popular, especially among her social media following — she regularly takes requests for cupcake flavors via her Facebook page, and makes them a reality for her customers. From a rich banana pudding-filled  vanilla cupcake topped with vanilla butter cream icing and vanilla wafer crumbles, to a Guiness Stout cupcake and even an "Elvis" cupcake (peanut butter, banana flavors topped with edible gold glitter), her smaller cake creations at Cake Notice are favorites among walk-ins.

"Business has been great," Simons said. "Retail brings a lot of people in, and then they see what I'm doing.

"I like to be creative with design. I want it to be different. It reflects my personality."