Tracycakes Bakery Café has long been seen as a must-visit destination in Abbotsford, locally owned by the entrepreneur Tracy Dueck. We recently we sat down with Tracy to get a better idea about her business and the community she is a part of. In operation since 2008, Tracycakes has a loyal following of customers that visit daily at her cozy location. Traceycakes Bakery Café is so much more than cakes. Let’s find out why!
“Baking is love” was at the heart of Tracy’s inspiration to start a bakery café–A natural-born entertainer and host, Tracy knew that cupcakes were just starting to become popular. With her nickname already being “Tracycakes”, it was meant to be. Sitting on the couch back in 2006, with her young children becoming older, she thought, “What’s next?”. Just 6 weeks later, the first Tracycakes location opened in Fort Langley. Build it, and they will come (for cupcakes!), said Tracy.
Downtown Abbotsford was Tracy’s first choice to open a bakery café, however, the new building was still under construction. Fast forward a couple of years, and she was able to open the downtown Abbotsford location on Montrose Street. A few years later, the iconic Murrayville location at Five Corners was opened. Today, Tracycakes continues to operate in the two locations.
Echoing the sentiments of other business owners in the area, downtown Abbotsford truly is a close-knit, supportive community that creates a sense of belonging. The Abbotsford Downtown Business Association, of which Tracy is a member of, works hard to help businesses succeed and promote the area with events like The Berry Fest and the Winter Jubilee. The neighbourly community is always ready to step in to help other business owners in need. A good example for this happened just recently. The oven that is required to stock the oodles of cupcakes sold on any given day, failed at Tracycakes Cafe. Kindly, a business right next door offered their oven to be used, free of charge, for as long as needed. What a lifesaver - a commercial oven doesn’t get fixed overnight! Whether it may be a bag of sugar required, or some extra to go cups, everyone in the neighbourhood is always willing to help.
By far, Tracy’s favourite part about the business is first and foremost the guests that she and her team interact with daily. A close second, is the sense of community and comradery in downtown Abbotsford. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, she and her daughter continued to bake without any other staff. They kept their doors open, selling out of the back door, to the local community, while most other businesses remained closed in the area.
Clearly, Tracycakes best known specialty are the cupcakes and babycakes! With over 60 flavours to choose from, they are made from scratch every day, and throughout the day, with only the finest ingredients, like real buttercream and real fruit (instead of artificial colourings). Some of Tracy’s cupcakes are named after her children and grandchildren, like the “Jessicupcake”, “Little Hunter”, “Peachy-Keen”, and “What Does the Fox Say?”. Creative cupcakes have led to expanding the business into wedding cakes, with a dedicated team member working as an operations manager and wedding coordinator.
We encourage you to stop by to experience an Infinity team favourite, the High Tea: delicious finger sandwiches, scones with Devonshire cream, and desserts. It’s an experience to be shared between two people and a great way to connect and escape for the afternoon. The cafe also offers a more extensive lunch menu, including sandwiches, soups and wraps.
Tracy’s dedication to downtown Abbotsford and the local community embodies the spirit of the connected living experience we want to provide at The Rail District. Infinity is excited to join the downtown Abbotsford community, a perfect mix of laid back valley living with the excitement of urban culture.
