Karen Donatelli Cake Designs closes, baker shares post-Helene woes
An Asheville baker known for her extraordinary cakes shares the challenges she’s faced following the COVID-19 pandemic and Tropical Storm Helene.
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Question: Karen Donatelli Cake Designs appears to have closed its Hendersonville Road location. Is Karen still in business, or has she moved to another location?
Answer: This story of a beloved bakery has a sweet beginning and a bitter middle, that hopefully won’t be its ending.
Karen Donatelli Cake Designs has closed due to the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene. Now, the business’s namesake, pastry chef Karen Donatelli, struggles to hold on to her passion for baking, with no outlet for her creativity.
“After going through COVID and after going through Helene, it’s mixed energy and thoughts about it, being that I’ve put so much into Asheville and into my bakeries. I don’t think I can reinvest into that,” Donatelli said.
The gift of baking, a dream of creating
At age 15, Karen Donatelli discovered her love for baking, which led to a successful career as a pastry chef and to owning two bakeries in Orlando and Winter Park, Florida.
Twenty-five years ago, she relocated to Asheville, opening a bakery and café at 57 Haywood St. in March 2012. For years, guests could drop in for pastries and coffee and order custom cakes for special occasions.
“It was beautiful. It was designed like an old European café. When you walked in, there were all of these beautiful cases with croissants, baked goods, specialty pastries and cake slices,” Donatelli said.
In March 2020, the business was rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country shut down. The following July, Donatelli, unable to cover the lease for the downtown retail space, was forced to downsize and move.
Karen Donatelli Cake Designs relocated to 1000 Hendersonville Road, but operated solely as a specialty cake, pastries and desserts company. There was no longer a café for the community to enjoy — customers visited by appointment, for order pick-up only.
The bakery went from employing 13 workers to only Donatelli, who focused on making the custom orders by request.
Donatelli pushed through the adversity, continuing to make stunning cake structures for events, such as birthdays, weddings, baptisms, and bar and bat mitzvahs. She prepared proposal cakes, hiding engagement rings for the recipient to discover.
She was trusted with sonograms to create gender-reveal cakes for the parents and loved ones to ceremoniously learn whether they would welcome a boy or a girl into their family.
She’s fulfilled cake orders for undisclosed celebrities.
One of her most memorable cakes was of Notre Dame, crafted for a groom who’d graduated from the university’s law school.
“We created that whole building. We’d also done chapels and all kinds of sugar work that are remarkable, portraying what the bride or groom wanted for their wedding day to share with their guests. I’ve made all kinds of things for all kinds of people that I’ve truly enjoyed,” Donatelli said.
Heartbreak for Asheville’s small businesses after Helene
Then, in late September 2024, Tropical Storm Helene struck Western North Carolina, halting operations for the small business once again.
Donatelli said that the spring and early summer were peak seasons for her, but the busiest, most profitable quarter was from late-August through the end of December. In Asheville, the fall “leaf season” and the holiday season are traditionally the most profitable times for area businesses.
“I book a year in advance, sometimes a year and a half in advance, for premium months for weddings. All of those got canceled,” Donatelli said.
The pastry chef said she was unable to operate, as electricity was temporarily out and the city’s water supply was cut off for nearly eight weeks, as the North Fork Reservoir was being repaired from damage sustained during Helene.
“Any bride who prepaid, those monies had to be reimbursed,” Donatelli said.
At both Asheville locations, Donatelli said she’d invested ample funds into renovations and equipment, including improvements to plumbing and electrical work.
The bakery was physically unscathed during Helene. Donatelli filed a claim with her insurance company, citing financial losses and business interruptions. Despite providing the requested documentation, she was eventually denied payment, as the claim involved a hurricane, high winds and flooding.
“Being without water that long period of time, being without power, and losing the ingredients I had, and having to reimburse for weddings, it was too difficult to stay in business,” Donatelli said.
She said her landlord waived her rent for the commercial property for October 2024 and part of November 2024. Ultimately, negotiations to further reduce the rent for an extended time were not agreed upon.
“I could not make ends meet with that,” she said.
She said the grants and Small Business Administration loan she received amid the pandemic helped her pull through. When Helene arrived, she didn’t have supplemental funding, and it would be several more years before the SBA loan could be repaid.
“I’m not alone in this. There’s other small businesses that had to do this, as well,” she said.
Karen Donatelli’s farewell (for now)
Donatelli sold her commercial bakery equipment, which she said was difficult to part with. To reopen, she’d have to start the business from scratch.
“Although I would have a good, strong customer base, the investment I would have to put into it ― it wouldn’t be a good business move for me,” she said.
The pastry arts run through the Donatelli family’s bloodline.
Donatelli said that her three children grew up in her bakeries. Her son, Vincent Donatelli, is a graduate of the Baking and Pastry Arts program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, and now a Michelin-starred chef at Caruso’s, an Italian restaurant in California.
Her husband, the senior Vincent Donatelli, is also a fellow pastry chef and the lead instructor of A-B Tech’s Baking and Pastry Arts program. Karen Donatelli said that after downsizing, he would occasionally assist her with orders.
Donatelli said she had been asked if she would pursue a career as an instructor, but that she’s leaving the educational path to her husband, preferring the customer-facing experience.
For now, she will seek other employment opportunities along a different career path and focus on caring for her family.
“As for baking, it’s such a passionate part of my life, but it comes with a lot of heartbreak, too,” she said.
As Donatelli considers what’s next to come for her life, she empathizes for the many businesses that have fallen due to Helene impacts and the lack of resources available for their recovery.
She also reflects on her love for her customers and community, and how she was able to be a part of their cherished moments through Karen Donatelli Cake Designs.
Donatelli said she is grateful to all who have supported her bakery, valued her creations, and appreciated the care she put into each product, thereby allowing the business to grow organically through recommendations.
“It would warm my heart to see the look on their faces when I would bring the cake out. All the designs that I made through the business: 99% of those cakes I made and designed,” Donatelli said. “When they would call me to tell me how good it tasted, how much they enjoyed it, that meant a lot to me, that a little bit of sweetness in this world was enjoyed by so many.”
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email [email protected] or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram. Sign up for AVL Bites and Brews, our weekly food and drink newsletter here.
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