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Business & Tech

KB Confections Moving Into Storefront Home

Karen Bosworth to open store after more than 20 years in sweets business.

As many in Lakewood know, Karen Bosworth and cake-making go together.

As for running a store – well, she’s happily getting used to that part.

Although it’s taken her more than 20 years, Bosworth will finally realize a dream early next month as she moves KB Confections – her home-based customized cakes and sweets business – into a formal store on 13519 Detroit Avenue.

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The big move has got Bosworth a little nervous, but she’s excited by the new challenges and possibilities it presents.

“It’s kind of scary. I’ve never run a retail spot. There’s a lot more training than I ever thought I would do,” Bosworth said. “My daughter and I went to Michigan a couple weeks ago – all on barista training for coffee – and I don’t even drink coffee. I’m kind of stretching and doing things I’m not used to doing. I’m very excited.”

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KB Confections will have espressos and smoothies, but it’s the sweets that’ll be the main attraction. With her three children having grown up, she thought this was a good time to open a store, especially with the location.

“The nature of my business is custom cakes. I do all the crazy, three-dimensional cakes. That’s really what I’m known for, but I do a lot of work with caterers, providing pastries and desserts,” Bosworth said. “Because we’re situated right across the street from and we’re in a busy area, we thought it would be best to do a full bake shop.”

But like any business, she’s got a few finishing touches to handle including inspections, new kitchen equipment, an espresso machine and painting and lighting to oversee before KB Confections is ready. Plus, with a few modifications, there will be additional seating coming in later months.

Thankfully, Bosworth, 40, has her whole family to help. And when she says KB Confections is a family business, she really means it.

Her husband Dan, 43, is the general contractor on the project, and the family is doing most of the labor. Tagging along are her three children: Marianne, Matt and James.

Marianne, 21, will be doing a lot of the managing and handle the coffee. She’s a business major at Cleveland State and has taken time off from school to help her mother complete the store’s opening. Matt, 17, handles deliveries, while James, 13, takes care of the odds and ends the others need tying up.

Bosworth, who grew up in Parma and has lived in Lakewood for more than 20 years, wanted to have a business that was a mere two streets away from where she lived in Lakewood.

“We’re right around the corner. We thought about going out to Westlake. (But) we love this community. My husband is a third-generation Lakewood person. Our kids have grown up in Lakewood all their lives. … We love this community, and we wanted to stay here. So we loved the spot, it’s close to our house and has a lot of character.”

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