July 30 marked the actualization of one local woman’s dream when she opened a bakery in the Lake Anna community.
“Our Grand Opening was amazingly overwhelming and the weeks to follow have been as well. The support that we have received from the community and Louisa County Schools is nothing I could have ever imagined. We are starting to settle down a bit, which we feel may be what we will experience on a day-to-day basis. This is allowing us to start working on planning the rest of the items we want to incorporate,” Anna (Susie) Prezioso told Lake Anna Life & Times recently.
Prezioso is the 54-year-old entrepreneur and baker building a forever home on the lake that has opened The Mad Batter in Mineral.
We asked her why she decided to open a bakery in the Lake Anna community?
“I am a self-taught baker and I have been cooking/baking my entire life and love seeing the joy on people’s faces when they eat great food. I opened a home bakery in 2018 after undergoing many surgeries on my left foot. A close friend encouraged me to start selling my cakes and within two months of starting I was so busy I had to purchase a commercial refrigerator for my home.”
“My husband and I have loved visiting Lake Anna with family and friends on our boat for years. One day we talked about building our forever home here and created a five-year plan that we acted on after only a year. We are super excited to be a part of the lake community and Louisa County.”
As with any new business, the owner plans to work to address customer needs and wants. Prezioso has a plan for her initial offerings and hours, though.
“Our hours are currently Tuesday-Friday from 10-6 and Saturdays 9-12 We are stocking the 16 flavors of cupcakes we started with on a daily basis along with the six cookie varieties. We also have two gluten free options daily as well. We are working to keep our Gourmet Cake Jars in stock but they are selling as fast as we can make them.”
As for her plans for the immediate future?
“Now that things have started to settle down a little, this has allowed me to work on the custom cake orders as well. We will be working to add our specialty flavor of the week and announce these items on Facebook at the beginning of the week. We will have a few small cake options as well as cupcakes in the flavor of the week, so you come by for these grab and go items. We are also working on obtaining some more equipment to allow us to start offering a few bread options as well as some pastries. We have definitely heard the community on their wish for doughnuts and we are still trying to see if this is an option for us.”
