Let Them Eat Cake
Lauren Gates forged a business out of birthday celebrations for her three boys. Now everyone is leaping for joy at the taste of her unique cake creations.
Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Image by Ryan McGill
Eli is ten years old and loves to share his creative ideas and be a hands-on helper. Zeke, age six, all about sports and fully dresses the part for whatever game he's playing. Four-year-old Mack is high-energy. From the time he wakes up until he lays his head down at night, he operates at full speed in all he undertakes. Eli, Zeke, and Mack are the three sons of Jacob and Lauren Rowland Gates and are the inspiration behind their mom's business, 3 Boys Cakery.
3 Boys Cakery began somewhat by accident. The Rowland-Gates bunch is all about celebrating birthdays. Every family member's birthday calls for a party, and parties call for a cake. As the years passed, Lauren felt she was creative and loved baking so the next best option was to bake and decorate them on her own.
My kids' birthdays were so close to each other, and then factoring in all the other occasions we celebrated in such a close time span, it just made sense that I would try to tackle it all myself, so I took on that responsibility and quickly fell in love with it as a creative hobby," Lauren recalls. "I started making cakes for my family, and then some friends, and then my work got shared on social media and I started getting cake requests from people I had never met. It was overwhelming but super exciting!"
The demand for her cakes inspired Lauren to commit to opening a business, and in January 2021, she launched 3 Boys Cakery. In an average month, Lauren completes around 18 orders for specialty cakes, gourmet cookie dough bites, mini-Oreo cakes, and her signature cakesicles—the more intricate, well-dressed sister of a cake pop.
"The business has been a blessing to me and my family. I’m able to still work part-time in physical therapy while running it, and I get to spend more time with my family,” Lauren says. “I'm also continually learning new tips and tricks for baking and decorating, and I've found a sense of community with the many other home bakers in Walker County. Launching a business in a small town could either make or break you, and fortunately it helped me greatly. "
Lauren consistently receives positive feedback on her cakes and finds that much of her business comes from word-of-mouth recommendations. Recently, she started getting her first repeat customers, and she looks forward to continuing giving back to her community through 3 Boys Cakery—with Eli, Zeke, and Mack as her inspiration and helping hands. 78