Home&Cake opens in Winsted, and owner has plans to expand
Aug. 7—"I'm so excited to see new places opening; new restaurants, more variety," she said.
The building at 450 Main St. is also home to a row of antique shops, Winsted News and Noujaim's Mediterranean Bistro. Farther north, there are more restaurants, offices and stores, as well as the Northwest CT YMCA and the American Museum of Tort Law. It's a busy corner.
Vrancic wanted to be part of that, she said. She's also baker whose cakes and desserts are available for special occasions. "I made cakes for friends, and thought, why not open a business?" she said. "I started doing deliveries to small stores, and planned to open a bookstore and bakery in the former IGA market, with the Curious Cat."
The Curious Cat recently opened on Main Street in the former home of Nutmeg Potters; that group moved to New Hartford in July. The IGA space didn't work out. "After five or six months of waiting, waiting, waiting, I decided to go ahead and open Home & Cake here," she said. "So this is a start."
She hopes to expand the store to include the bakery, and is working on making that happen, she said.
Inside the store, walls are papered with blur-and-white flowers, accompanied by a vivid blue wall at the checkout counter. One side of the store is lined with shelves and filled with home items: kitchen linens from France; embellished fabric totes; woven shopping baskets from Africa; and candles and aromatherapy room sprays from England.
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Collections of glass and pottery, unique trays and wall hangings, pillows and throws, books on decorating a home and small pieces of furniture are also among the store's inventory. "We wanted to make the store fresh, young and colorful," Vrancic said.
"The gifts are from all over the world: Morrocco, England, France, Spain. ... I like green, so there's a lot of that color," she said, pointing out a set of emerald green cocktail glasses. "I also have Pentire, which is a mix to make (alcoholic or nonalcoholic) cocktails, from England."
Since her first opening day on July 29, Vrancic said, she's had nothing but positive reactions to her store. "People have been so nice, and so helpful," she said. "Everyone wants me to succeed; they want the downtown to succeed."
She also praised Town Manager Josh Kelly and Economic Development Director Ted Shafer for their work.
"Josh is just what the town needed to move forward," she said. "He has done so much to make things better, to encourage people to come here and open a business. He's got enthusiasm and he's so supportive. I appreciate the help from him and people like Ted (Shafer)."
Reach Home & Cake at 518-221-2722 or find them on Facebook and Instagram, where her cakes also are available.
