Canonsburg Cake Company adds decadence to downtown
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Lindsey and Zak Parks opened the Canonsburg Cake Company along West Pike Street in Canonsburg last week. Lindsey, a self-taught pastry chef, launched an online bakery in 2021 and when her business exploded, began searching for a storefront.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Lindsey Parks has been baking since she was a little girl. When her online bakery, launched in 2021, grew almost overnight, she began searching for a brick-and-mortar location, which opened along Canonsburg’s West Pike Street last week.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Among cupcakes and other offerings, the Canonsburg Cake Company sells homemade scones and cakes. Owner Lindsey Parks said the single-serving cakes are her favorite thing to bake.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Canonsburg Cake Company was packed with customers March 25, when the bakery officially opened for business. Lindsey Parks, center behind the counter; her mother, Melody Longstreth and husband, Zak, spent the day meeting and filling orders for customers.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Canonsburg Cake Company opened for business last week along West Pike Street. The bakery was nearly sold out of homemade goods by the end of its first day.
Courtesy Amy Petro
Lindsey and Zak Parks, center, cut the ribbon outside Canonsburg Cake Company last week. The Parks were surrounded by state senator Camera Bartolotta; Washington County commissioners; Canonsburg councilmen and Mayor Dave Rhome; Peters, Greene County and Canonsburg Chambers of Commerce members and family.
Canonsburg’s West Pike Street just got a little sweeter.
Last week, the Canonsburg Cake Company opened the doors to its modern, minimalist storefront, and by 1 p.m. the small family business was nearly sold out of beautiful cupcakes, drool-worthy micro cakes and pretty scones.
“I had been (baking) for friends and family since 2013,” said Lindsey Parks, a Greene County native who relocated with her husband, Zak, to Canonsburg six years ago and owns the store. “One thing led to another and I realized I could really make this something viable. So I decided to go ahead and try.”
Parks grew up baking. She and her grandmother, Letha Longstreth, spent countless happy hours in the kitchen crafting pies and baked goods. Nothing fancy, Parks said, though that’s hard to believe when glancing at the decadent pastries inside her shop.
It’s also hard to believe the pastry chef is self-taught. Parks graduated with a degree in teaching and put that diploma to use in Greene County, where she spent her days teaching kindergarten and her evenings baking and decorating. Baking as a side gig began in 2013, the year her grandparents, Letha and Ted, celebrated their golden anniversary.
Suddenly, Parks’ cakes were in high demand.
“This was calling my name,” she said.
In September of last year, Parks made her passion for pastries official when she launched a virtual bakery. Within months of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the cake company exploded.
“She’s always been a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit. When she said, ‘Hey, I’m going to do the virtual business and one day maybe have a brick-and-mortar,’ we’re thinking ‘one day,’ not less than six, seven months,” laughed Melody Longstreth, Parks’ mother and the executive director of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce. “I just had no idea it would be so quick. I just watched it blossom.”
When the business took off, Parks connected with Lisa Scarmazzi, economic developer for Canonsburg Borough, who helped Parks find a storefront. Parks signed a lease for the property aptly situated across the street from Grandpa Joe’s candy shop in January and worked tirelessly alongside her family to renovate the space.
On March 25, representatives from three chambers of commerce, state senator Camera Bartolotta, Washington County commissioners, Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome and several family members attended the official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Parks is unique in that she belongs to the Canonsburg, Peters and Greene County Chambers of Commerce.
“Betsy’s (McClure, commissioner) thought on blurring the lines and working collaboratively, I think that’s something coming out of the pandemic that we all need to work together as a region,” said Longstreth. “This is just another business that is going to show that, yes, we can blur those county lines and she’s going to be successful in several locations.”
Hilltop Packs Coffee Company in Waynesburg sells Canonsburg Cake Company products, and now the cake company has its own home along Canonsburg’s main drag.
“Pike Street is coming alive,” said A.J. Williams, president of Canonsburg Chamber of Commerce. “Born and raised here. It’s been a really long time since Pike Street has looked like this. On a personal level, it’s great, and we’re glad to see you part of this.”
Rhome presented Parks a citation welcoming her business to town, and the Canonsburg Chamber of Commerce gifted her a six-month membership before Parks took extra-large scissors in hand and cut the ribbon outside her shop.
Parks said she is looking forward to serving the community, and is thrilled to be part of Canonsburg’s thriving downtown.
The Canonsburg Cake Company is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday.