WORCESTER, Mass. - Erica and Jay Diaz are bringing custom birthday cakes, cupcakes, and much more to Worcester's Grafton Hill.

The Diazes are opening Taste Great Cakes at the former home of Lee's Bakery at 98 Hamilton Street. 

Lee’s Bakery closed in 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The owners plan to put their focus on the custom cakes and cupcakes, while also offering "fair food" like candy apples, chocolate covered cherries and deep fried Twinkies. 

"Ultimately, we want to just give people what they want," Jay Diaz said in an interview with Spectrum News 1 on Thursday. "That's our main goal. No matter how crazy the world gets, everyone still has a birthday and deserves a birthday cake."

Erica and Jay met 10 years ago while Jay was working at a local bakery where he learned the ins and outs of the bakery business and shared that knowledge with Erica who has developed a special talent for custom cakes.

Over the past few years, Erica has been filling orders for custom cakes and candies for birthdays, holidays and other events right from their home. 

"It was a vision to open a storefront many years back. (Erica) has built the following we have now," Jay said. "It wasn't for her hard work the last several years, she took it a whole other level."

The Diazes are both from Worcester and have eight children. They have five children together, ages nine and younger and three from previous relationships ages 18, 19 and 22.

So there's no shortage of birthday parties and plenty of reasons to bake cakes. With all the practice, the Diazes have learned how to throw a great party and plan to offer personalized birthday party packages and expand on their cake and dessert offerings. 

"We had this idea a few years back. And the coronavirus really made us prioritize what it is we want to do," Jay said. "We said, 'Let's take the work for ourselves.'"

"We're giving it everything we got, rolling it up into a ball and it will be a slam dunk on Hamilton Street," Jay added.

Taste Great Cakes took over the lease for the location back in June and the shop was approved by Worcester's License Commission for a common victualer license on Thursday. Depending on how quickly the renovations get finished (they're about 3/4 completed) and how soon permits are received, the Diazes expect to open the shop sometime between now and January 1, 2022.

Taste Great Cakes is expected to be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. The shop will be closed on Mondays. 

In the coming weeks, Taste Great Cakes will replace the Lee's Bakery light box sign and with their own logo and put a new sign above the bakery's entrance.