Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

GBD Cakes and Sweets, Run by Mother-Daughter Duo, Opens Saturday

 The bakery is opening along the border of Bucktown and Logan Square at 2039 N. Western Ave.
GBD Cakes and Sweets
View Full Caption

BUCKTOWN — A mother-and-daughter team who already specialized in making elaborate cakes and cupcakes for events all over the city are opening their first bakery Saturday.

After more than year of getting the shop ready, Victoria and Maria Maya will open the doors at noon Saturday to GBD Cakes and Sweets at 2039 N. Western Ave., along the border of Bucktown and Logan Square.

Victoria Maya, 25, started making cakes about two years ago after she graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in visual arts and wasn't quite sure what to do next.

But she knew she loved designing desserts. She calls having her own bakery her dream, but "it's kind of a dream that snuck up on us," she said. 

She started making cakes for birthday parties and various family events and then tantalized friends with photos of her creations on Facebook. Soon, she couldn't keep up with demand, and her mom stepped in to help.

"From there, it just snowballed and grew," said Victoria Maya, an Ashburn resident. "We realized it was something that we could really achieve."

Her mother, Maria Maya, took up classes at Le Cordon Bleu and became a certified pastry chef. Now, they both have a hand in creating and designing their desserts.

"It really is a team effort," Victoria Maya said.

At first, they called themselves Golden Brown Delicious Cakes and Sweets before simplifying to "GBD."

Using their own kitchen or a borrowed one, they've catered weddings and special events such as the Chicago Latino Film Festival and Fiesta del Sol, and have provided food for various local organizations, including the Latino Cultural Center and Gilda's Club Chicago.

At the new bakery, the pair will also offer a number of Mexican-fusion pastries, including horchata cupcakes, Mexican hot chocolate cookies and tres leches cupcakes.

They'll also have their own take on the "duffin," that cross between a doughnut and a muffin that stirred up some trademark controversy in the U.K. last year.

As a perk for those who visit on opening day, the bakery will be offering buy-one, get-one-free cupcakes, Victoria Maya said.

GBD Cakes and Sweets' will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Those hoping for a sneak peek at some of its cake designs can check out the company's Facebook page.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: