Making room for more sweets, treats and community

Rachel Sankey

Past Staff

May 17, 2023

OSHKOSH – For Tamara Mugerauer, expanding her Oshkosh bakery location goes beyond being able to offer even more goodies and sweets – it’s about the community.

“You can go to Kwik Trip and get bakery (items), you can go to Walmart and get bakery (items), you can get bakery (items) anywhere,” she said. “But the small-town, hometown bakery – to me – is the heart of our community, to be completely honest. We’re part of celebrations – that’s what I love most about my job.”

Mugerauer is the owner of Tamara’s the Cake Guru, which currently has locations in Appleton (1859 N. Casaloma Drive) and Oshkosh (2271 Westowne Ave.).

The licensed baker got her start more than 25 years ago when she opened her first bakery at 610 Oregon St. in Oshkosh – focusing mainly on special orders.

The expansion of the 2271 Westowne location is the latest update to the business. 

A cupcake catalyst
Mugerauer said she started out mainly concentrating on wedding cakes – creating anywhere from 200 to 250 a year.

When her daughter wanted to start selling cupcakes, she said the demand for the baked treat grew through Facebook and pop-up shops.

“The year the Packers went to the Super Bowl (2011), I sold 100 dozen that weekend,” she said.

When the former Schoenberger’s Pastry Shops’ 1529 Oregon St. location in Oshkosh was up for sale in 2012, Mugerauer said she used social media to gauge how people felt about her possibly opening an expanded location.

“Within 15 minutes, I had 100-and-some responses like, ‘Oh please, we wish we could get your stuff more,’” she said. “So, we bought the building.”

To continue expanding, Mugerauer said she started to sell her baked goods at the Fox River Mall in Appleton from 2013-15.

After continued success, Tamara’s the Cake Guru opened a location on Casaloma in 2015, and another one in downtown Appleton in 2016 (although that location only lasted two years).

“They ripped up College Avenue,” she said. “We couldn’t even get there to deliver our own product, so we ended up closing that little spot out.” 

//17bec5072710cda5b8dd81b69f4c6e58.cdn.bubble.io/f1684355222959x739990167739206700/richtext_content.webpTamara’s the Cake Guru provides a variety of activities for the community, such as cookie decorating for holidays. Submitted Photo

She said little did she know, her time dealing with construction wasn’t finished yet – however, this time it was at the Oregon Street location in Oshkosh.

“Then they were ripping up Oregon Street, which has been going on now for the past six years,” she said. “We decided to be proactive… we knew our demographic was on the west side of Oshkosh, so we rented a space over there and had the two locations.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mugerauer said they decided to close the Oregon Street location.

“We did not reopen it because now there are labor shortages, and honestly, we do so well at Westowne,” she said.

The start and the expansion
Deciding to expand at Westowne (which opened in 2018) Mugerauer said, also came down to the use of space.

“We had a little bit of seating when we first opened,” she said. “Then we kept filling it with stuff.”

Mugerauer said having a space where customers could come in and spend time in the bakery was important to her, hence her push to expand.

When the business next door shut down, she said she immediately took it over and flipped the entire space within two months.
“And here we are,” she said. 

While some customers have been bummed about the Oregon Street location closing, Mugerauer said many come to the Westowne location and enjoy the larger building.

“(Recently), it was a rainy day, not a very busy day for us,” she said. “But multiple families sat down, a little older couple sat down and were like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s so nice to be here and enjoy our treat.’ Or a mom and son (came in) after school – we have a pink couch – and they were sitting there chatting about the school day. A bakery is something where you go to feel happy… We’re at the heart of so many celebrations.” 

The expanded Westowne location, Mugerauer said, offers many different goodies and drinks.

She said she still does wedding cakes and cupcakes, and now also offers ice cream, gourmet-flavored cheesecakes, smoothie bowls and “char-cookie-rie” boards, which include a variety of sweet treats.

The bakery also offers a drink menu, which features Colectivo coffee beverages, boba, sparkling lemonade and refreshers.
Mugerauer said the bakery also offers other fun options depending on the seasons or holidays.

“We did a bunny sundae for Easter,” she said.

Tapping into social media
In an effort to reach the ever-evolving social media audiences, Mugerauer said bakery staff does a bunch of different things to stay up on the trends.

Which, she said, includes a photo backdrop – a sprinkle and sequin wall decked out with a neon light and a pink bench, similar to what “they do in Nashville.”

//17bec5072710cda5b8dd81b69f4c6e58.cdn.bubble.io/f1684355260598x394051273741674560/richtext_content.webpThe bakery offers more than 700 different Fabu-lux cupcake flavors. Submitted Photo

“(It’s) a Betsy Johnson kind of feel in that corner,” she said. “We’re definitely trying to focus on social media.”

Mugerauer said the bakery also has a significant following on Facebook, with 43,000 likes and 41,000 followers.

Unfortunately, Mugerauer said the Cake Guru’s Instagram page was hacked, and she is now working with the digital media clinic at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to retrieve some of her old content.

The owner said some employees have also put the bakery on the map in the world of TikTok.

“We’ve tried to do some TikToks, which are pretty goofy,” she said. “I’m always welcoming the girls to run something past me and do it.”

Community-minded
The community, Mugerauer said, was a big reason for the expansion.

“I want it to be… a space where people can come and sit with their family (and friends),” she said.

Mugerauer said she also offers different activities – from cookie decorating and a visit with the Easter Bunny, to hosting a “tween” book club for the younger generation to get together.

Not only does she want Tamara’s the Cake Guru to be a place where friends and family can spend time together, but she said she also focuses on bringing the bakery out into the community in a variety of ways.

“(Something) about my business that’s close to my heart… we donate birthday cakes for every foster child,” she said. “We work with three different organizations throughout the Valley to provide that. My daughters write them a little note like, ‘You are important, you are special,’ and they get that for their birthday. It’s an initiative we’re trying to grow statewide, actually.”

Mugerauer said she has also worked with other organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Club, Disabled American Veterans and the Salvation Army. 

“Most bakers I know are like me when it comes to donations because we want to share what we have,” she said.

And, Mugerauer said, everything she does through the bakery “happens because of the people I’m blessed to surround myself with.”

“I used to think I had to do everything all by myself,” she said. “And the more I built this amazing team, the more successful we are… I have to give hats off to the team that built this with me, and continue to do so.”

Head to cakeguru.com to learn more about the bakery and its offerings.