Business & Tech

Sweet Ducky Cupcakery Now Serving Up Sweet Treats on the South Hill

Sweet Ducky Cupcakery opened Nov. 23 next to Meister's in the old South Hill Liquor space, where Nancy Zimmerman and Sally Hanks are serving up cream-filled cupcakes, cookies and other sweet treats.

There is a new cupcake shop on the South Hill offering up some tasty sweet treats.

Sweet Ducky Cupcakery opened Nov. 23 next to Meister’s in the old South Hill Liquor space, where Nancy Zimmerman and Sally Hanks are serving up cream-filled cupcakes, cookies and other sweet treats.

But as sweet as the treats are, the story behind Stillwater’s new cupcake shop still hurts.

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The shop is named after Nancy’s daughter Andrea “Ducky” Zimmerman who died in a car crash just shy of two years ago.

“Andrea was a very bright light to everyone that knew her. Seeing her smiling face, you couldn’t help but smile back,” Nancy said. “We lost Andrea in a car accident January 29, 2010 and when we lost her – we lost that smile and bright light. Everyone knew her as Ducky—so we named our CupCakery after her and in remembrance of her.”

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With Sweet Ducky CupCakery Zimmerman and Hanks hope to get back some of the bright light they so very much miss, and bring a smile to everyone that comes into their little shop.

“We want to be here for all of her friends and her family that miss her so much,” Nancy said.

The cupcakery officially had a “silent” opening on Black Friday, and plans for a grand opening are in the works later this month.

But residents have definitely noticed the quaint cupcakery.

“When kids come in their eyes get huge,” Zimmerman said. “There’s been a lot of oohs and ahs.”

Hanks and Zimmerman are both self-taught bakers.

Zimmerman retired from 3M after 32 years and decided to use her retirement funds to open the store.

“I’m working 12-hour days in retirement,” she said, “and loving it.”

Hanks worked as a baker at Eno’s—which is now the Bikery—for a number of years.

“Baking is fun, inventive, and let’s face it,” Hanks said, “someone has to do it.”

In addition to the fun, inventing is something the duo is doing a lot of lately.

“We’re inventing a lot,” Hanks said. “Anything people like—whether it’s Chai Tea, caramel macchiato or peanut butter cups—we turn it into a cupcake.”

And when kids come through the doors, their eyes get huge, Zimmerman said. “It’s so fun to have people come in here and get their sweet treats.”

To perfect the recipe, Zimmerman said the duo flipped through a lot of cookbooks and logged quite a few hours of watching Cupcake Wars.

“It took us a year to get our recipe down,” she said, “and I think we came up with something quite unique.”

In additions to walk-ins, Sweet Ducky Cupcakery also takes orders over the phone (651-439-9081) and bake cupcakes and sweet treats for parties and small weddings. The shop will soon offer dog biscuits, too.

If You Go: The store’s winter hours are Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturdays from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Sundays from 8 a.m.-noon. The cupcakery is closed on Mondays.


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