By Raiza Giorgi
The afternoon of July 20 was bittersweet for Pattibakes owner Patti Wicks as she officially handed over her spatula to new owners Kim and Cassandra Farris.
“I think I will be happy about not waking up to that alarm anymore,” Wicks laughed.
“We will be continuing Patti’s legacy and adding in our own recipes. I am so excited to start the next chapter of Pattibakes,” Cassandra Farris said.
The popular breakfast and lunch spot and bakery was founded in 1996, after Wicks’ son was convinced that his mother’s apple cinnamon coffee cake and scones were much better than ones sold elsewhere.
More than 20 years later, Wicks says that she is still not sure how the bakery and café took off. Her specialty, she added, lies in the cream cheese frosting she makes for her cakes.
Cassandra Farris graduated from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in 2007 and attended culinary school at Santa Barbara City College. She then went to cook in South Lake Tahoe for several years and returned to the valley in 2013.
She has worked as a sous chef and chef at several local restaurants, including Succulent in Solvang and Industrial Eats in Buellton. She went to Europe in 2016 to study food and came home to open a food truck. She traveled around the Central Coast cooking at vineyards, events and even for the firefighters during the Thomas Fire. (Her father is a local firefighter.)
“I wanted to expand somehow and wasn’t sure how to do it until I saw an ad on Craigslist for a small bakery in Buellton for sale. I called up the agent and not that much longer we decided to take over,” Farris said.
Farris and her father’s wife Kim decided it was time to start their own venture with Kim handling the business end of the bakery and Cassandra handling the food.
“We are hoping to expand the lunch options and offer items that the valley will be excited about,” Cassandra Farris said.
Pattibakes is at 240 E. Highway 246 No. 109. Orders can be placed at the store or on www.pattibakes.com. Those who follow on social media have access to contests and giveaways.
