Kay Zamudia has made her dream come true.

Since she was young, Zamudia know what she wanted to do.

Bake.

“When we were in about third grade, we had those papers that asked what we wanted to do with three big dreams on them,” Zamudia said. “Number one on my paper was my own cake shop. I was pushing for it since middle school, and it eventually all came together throughout my high school years.”

Fast-forward to 2020, and Zamudia is now the owner of Kays Kakes, located at 254 E. Broad St. in Tamaqua.

The grand opening of the new bakery was a few weeks ago in January. “This time last year, we were here looking at a completely blank, empty building,” she said. “The contractor did a lot and the painter did a really good job too.”

Kays Kakes offers a little bit of everything. Custom cakes, of course, but the menu doesn’t stop there. Cupcakes, cookies, danishes, muffins — even waffles and oatmeal in the morning. The prices are consumer friendly, and the bakery had a positive response from the community during its opening week.

“I was excited, nervous and it was just crazy trying to keep up,” Zamudia said of the opening. “I thought it might happen, but I didn’t know it would happen this soon. I’m really glad it did.”

Kay has been baking since she was about 3 years old. It runs in her family, as her mom, grandmother and uncle have or currently do consistently bake. In fact, Kays Kakes is a family production, as her sister, uncle, grandfather and mother each work or help out to some degree.

So, what’s her favorite recipe? “We can pretty much do anything you want,” she said. “I’m more of a cupcake person. I like doing those.”

Not everyone gets to do what they love for a living. But that’s not the case for Zamudia, a 2019 Tamaqua Area High School graduate.

“I was really young but I still remember going to Wenzel’s,” she said. “It’s cool that I can give that to some of the younger kids now. They can come in here and see a bakery.”

Kays Kakes is currently open four days a week. Check out the bakery on Facebook and Instagram. A website is coming soon.