Cake Decorating Store San Rafael

Liz Amini of Ross heads out of Cake Art a final time with her grandchildren Oscar Stowell, 10, and Eloise Stowell, 7, in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963, is soon closing for good. Amini says she has been a devoted customer for 40 years and to her the store represented more than goods - it represented a history of holidays and birthdays spent with family. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Elle Jones of Mill Valley shops at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963 is closing for good. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Gina Collins, left, watches as customer Elle Jones of Mill Valley gathers everything she bought at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963 is soon closing for good. Jones described herself as a loyal customer of the specialty store. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Mary Plescia of San Rafael shops at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963 is soon closing for good. Plescia has been a customer for 43 years. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Emily Collins works beside her mother Kathy Collins at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. After nearly six decades in business, Cake Art is closing for good. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Cake Art co-owner Kathy Collins chats with customer Madison Korman of San Rafael about how the styles of wedding cakes has changed at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963 is soon closing for good. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Cake Art co-owner Kathy Collins reduces prices at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963, is soon closing for good. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Cake Art co-owner Kathy Collins, left, chats with Mary Plescia at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963 is soon closing for good. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Cake decorations are marked down at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. The store's last day is Saturday. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Pamela Welsh of San Rafael looks over cake cutters at Cake Art in San Rafael on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Cake Art, which opened in 1963 is soon closing for good. Welsh said she was looking for items for her granddaughter, who will be turning 12 soon and loves to bake. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

After 57 years of offering cake decorating classes and selling gingerbread houses, edible toppers and baking supplies, Cake Art in San Rafael is closing its doors.

Kathy Collins and her business partner Maria Smithey announced this week that the downtown business at 1512 Fifth Ave. has decided to close after struggling during the coronavirus crisis.

The store will be open through Thursday with limited hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and closed Sunday through Tuesday. It will open again from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

"I'm sad, completely devastated by this loss," Collins said. "We would love to see Cake Art continue in some form, but at this point, we are liquidating everything."

Smithey said before the pandemic she was thinking about retiring, but the crisis put that decision on the fast track.

"With the pandemic, it really limits what we are able to do. We can't do any classes, no parties," Smithey said. "I decided it was a good time to retire."

Cake Art opened in Corte Madera in 1963. It was sold to Elaine Foster in 1990, and the store was moved to its existing address in 1994.

Collins, who is a physical therapist, said she took a cake decorating class with Foster in the late '90s.

"My father was a baker so I always wanted to do it," she said. "I came in and started taking classes and fell in love with the craft."

Foster decided to sell in 1999. That's when Collins and two business partners came together to become the new owners. Foster continued on teaching classes.

Like Collins, Smithey took classes before buying into the shop. Smithey, who worked in health care for 17 years and as a kindergarten teacher for 10, said baking had always been a passion of hers. She became a partner in 2011 when two others sold their shares.

Over the years, classes were offered for everyone from beginners to experts. Participants enrolled in lessons on decorating cookies, chocolate, candy and gingerbread houses during the holidays.

Smithey said upwards of 65% of the store's revenue came from the holiday season. They would sell about 1,000 gingerbread houses each year.

There was also a summer camp for kids.

"It was fun to see the kids grow up. Some would come back every year," Smithey said. "We're sad to see it go."

Stacy Leopold, a San Rafael resident, said her two daughters, who are now young adults, were among that group.

"They learned how to make cakes, candy, gingerbread houses," she said. "It was great family fun, bringing the family together. This is like an end of an era. We're all going to miss it."