Sweet Success In Milford As Project Pop-Up Business Opens

Article Shared on Delaware.gov, The Official Website of the First State

Date Posted: Monday, December 22nd, 2014

MILFORD, Del. (Dec. 22, 2014) – Something tasty just popped up in downtown Milford.

City, state and other local officials celebrated the arrival of Patty Cakes, a participant in this year’s Project Pop-Up program, with a ribbon cutting on Friday, Dec. 19, 2014 at the business, which is at 22 S. Walnut St., Milford.

Patty Cakes, owned by Latricia Vicks, offers one-of-a-kind custom wedding cakes and cakes for other events; as well as an assortment of sweets baked on premises, from scratch, including cookies, cupcakes, brownies, cake truffles and other dessert items. The business is the second Milford-based Project Pop-Up participant – following Delaware Branding Company at 19 NW Front Street – to celebrate a grand opening this year.

Project Pop-Up, a joint effort between the Delaware Economic Development Office and Downtown Delaware, provides three months of rent-free commercial space during the holiday season along with the assistance of a business advisor to help launch and grow the business. The program has grown from three participating businesses in 2012 to 15 this year, including nine businesses in an incubator in Wilmington.

“We are proud to once again partner with the City of Milford to bring another promising business to the downtown area. Historic towns like Milford serve as the backbone of our state, and we need vibrant businesses like Patty Cakes to breathe new life into their main streets,” said Alan Levin, Director of the Delaware Economic Development Office. “Every large, successful business started somewhere, and we aim to nurture small businesses to put them on that path to prosperity. It appears that Ms. Vicks is well on her way.”

Vicks said she discovered Project Pop-Up at the perfect time, just as she was looking to move her showroom from Dover to a larger location.

“It has been absolutely amazing. The property has been a perfect fit for what we wanted to do. It’s a beautiful space,” Vicks said. “The partnership with DEDO has been wonderful. They’ve set me up with a number of networking opportunities. It’s given us a lot of exposure and press, which has been phenomenal. We have this anticipation of us opening the shop, and I hope we can live up to it.”

Diane Laird, State Coordinator of Downtown Delaware, said Vicks’ business and its line of sweets should do especially well in the heart of Milford.

“Latricia’s product is so unique that people will travel for it. It is these kinds of destination businesses that enlarge the customer base of our small towns,” Laird said. “They bring in people from the broader region which, in turn, increases foot traffic and helps all the businesses downtown.”

Last year, Milford’s Project Pop-Up participant, Milford Massage, Wellness and Yoga, saw business quadruple just months after opening, necessitating a move to a larger facility, where owner Paige Deiner now offers massage, Reiki, yoga and self-development classes.

The openings of Patty Cakes and Delaware Branding Company back an arts-related retail strategy in Milford that includes culinary arts, art galleries, and performing arts.

“From our very first meeting, we knew Patty Cakes and its talented business owner Latricia Vicks was a viable Project Pop-Up candidate,” said Ken Anderson Director, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Support for the Delaware Economic Development Office. “As we continued to vet her business model, review her unique and eloquently designed products, and gaged her long-term commitment to her business, we knew she would be a great addition to all the exciting entrepreneurial activity in the town of Milford. Patty Cakes will be very successful.”