Editor's Note: Second life. It can represent a chance to do over. To reset and refocus your life. To shake off the past and give yourself an opportunity to change and grow. In our series, Second Life, we took a look at how those in the small business world, out of necessity or desire, reach beyond their comfort zones to re-create themselves and their world. These stories celebrate those who saw potential in being something else or creating something that wasn’t and were brave enough to take the plunge into the deep, dark waters of entrepreneurship.
BONAVISTA, N.L. — When asked about her background in baking cupcakes, Tracy Harris says it’s all about seeing the customers’ reactions when they taste.
“I like the reactions I get from people — when it’s good!” she laughed, in her interview with The Packet.
Tracy opened her own cupcake shop, Moreish Cupcakes and Treats this past June.
“It’s just something you like to hear. I like making people feel good.”
It’s certainly something she got from her mom. Harris says she was the inspiration for her interest in baking and cupcakes.
Tracy grew up in Mount Pearl but her parents are originally from Bonavista. She had worked as a layout editor for The Telegram newspaper for 13 years when she was laid off.
She says she’s often thought about taking the plunge to do something like this but admits perhaps she was complacent.
“You know, you get in your comfort zone, and I didn’t have the nerve to go out on my own.”
After the layoff, she was visiting Bonavista with her dad when they thought the old train car near the T.K. Kelloway Centre would make an ideal location for a cupcake shop. While the spot wasn’t practical, the idea stuck.
The next day Tracy found out the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE) was having a meet and greet for potential entrepreneurs in the Bonavista area.
“I kind of took it as a sign. I went to the meeting and it kind of escalated from there.”
She says her father was instrumental in finding, securing, and renovating the shop space on Church Street. She joked that while she was still a little apprehensive, he seemed to want it more than she did.
“As it went on and I saw it come together, I was like ‘Ah, this is actually going to happen!’”
Since opening, Tracy says business has been good. She sold more than 400 cupcakes in the first two days alone.
Moreish Cupcakes is one of the many new businesses in downtown Bonavista. Having undergone a resurgence in the past few years, many young entrepreneurs have brought specialty shops to the town – not only for locals but also to cater to the many tourists who frequent the community during the summer.
On the counter in the cupcake shop — along with the many colourful treats — is a sign, which explains the “Moreish” name. Tracy’s mom, Joyce, who passed away in 2015, always said ‘that tastes moreish’ when she indulged in a treat she particularly enjoyed.
“When we heard her say those words, we knew it meant she loved it and was going to have more,” reads the sign.
Tracy’s mom is the one who helped introduce her to baking. And while she isn’t around to see the lovely new shop, the business is named in her honour.
Moreish Cupcakes and Treats on Church Street in Bonavista.
