Family the inspiration to open eatery
-
SARAH CAVACINI/Palatka Daily News. Cassie Harrig sits outside her shop, Sassie Cassie's Sweet Treats & More, on Thursday. -
SARAH CAVACINI/Palatka Daily News. Cassie Harrig smiles behind her baked goods counter at Sassie Cassie's Sweet Treats & More on Thursday.
CRESCENT CITY – There’s a new spot on Central Avenue to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Cassie Harrig opened Sassie Cassie’s Sweet Treats & More nearly three months ago, pushed into the adventure by her family and her love of baking.
She and her husband, Richard Harrig Jr., run the business Thursday through Tuesday, closing only on Wednesdays to restock, she said.
“We’re getting lots of love and support from Town Hall, from the citizens. Everybody’s opening up to us with open arms,” Cassie said Thursday.
Sassie Cassie’s, 508 Central Ave., is open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Wednesday. The bakery is also open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Sundays.
The bright pink shop offers homemade cakes from Cassie herself, bags of candy, and popcorn and cotton candy on the weekends.
On Thursday, she had little pies, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate-covered cherry cake and a berry cake in her display case. She also can whip up a milkshake, ice cream or a banana split.
“My husband and I are junk food junkies,” Cassie said.
Still, she dabbles in more than just sweet treats. The cafe offers breakfast and lunch with tables to sit outside.
On Thursday, Crescent City resident Ginny Gaffney and her friend, Jan Baker, were each enjoying Cassie’s chicken salad sandwiches. It’s what they both recommended.
“It’s delicious,” Gaffney said. “It’s just perfect.”
Cassie’s sister, Shawona Oxendine, said Cassie is self-taught and bakes all of the food in one oven in the shop. Oxendine, who is also from Crescent City, believes the business adds something new to the community.
“We’re just super, super proud of her,” Oxendine said.
Cassie traced her baking roots back to her great-grandmother, recalling when she would stand on a stool as her great-grandmother made peanut butter fudge. And her family ties can still be seen in her shop today because Harrig said she couldn’t have started this business without them, specifically Papa Ed.
He was Cassie’s mother’s stepdad, who encouraged her and her husband to begin the business more than a year ago.
“He used to call me ‘Narrow Butt,’” Cassie Harrig said with a chuckle. “And he’d be like, ‘Narrow Butt, you need to get you a shop started.’”
Papa Ed died as she and her husband began getting the business together, and to honor him, she dedicated a lunch dish to him – the Papa Bowl.
“He’s pretty much the reason we got started in this,” Cassie Harrig said. “I enjoy baking. I do personal cakes, birthday cakes, stuff like that, for my friends, and they’re like, ‘You should run with it.’ And here we are.”