Rubydoocakes opens bigger shop in Chippenham town centre

Rubydoocakes, owned by local baker Louise Skeates, has relocated from its previous home, on the corner of New Road and Station Hill, to the former Digiprint premises just yards away on New Road.

Louise was excited about the move and the growth her business has enjoyed so far.

She said: “It’s been a rough year for me but to have this opportunity to move to a bigger store is phenomenal. It’s scary but so rewarding, whatever I’m doing it seems to be working.

“We’re moving into a bigger premises now which has less sunshine and a kitchen, which will allow me to bake on site.

The inside of the new shop. (Image: Newsquest)

“Our old shop was beautiful, and I love the premises, but it’s not good to have a chocolate-based shop on a corner that turns into a greenhouse.”

Louise, who bakes all the shop’s products herself, started the business six years ago when she began selling cakes through Facebook and word of mouth.

She left her career in engineering to open her own cake shop after lockdown.

Reflecting on the decision, she said: “It was ridiculously scary but if you don’t try something you’ll never know and the opportunity arose to open a shop.

“The feedback has been phenomenal since then. I’ve always loved to bake and I did it with my nan for years growing up.

Rocky road is the shop's best seller. (Image: Newsquest)

“Engineering was my passion and I used to come home and bake as a way of relieving stress from my job, and then I decided enough was enough and I wanted to give it a go.

“My love and passion for baking has increased exponentially and I never thought it would be this successful.”

The popularity of Louise’s cakes has spread as far as Bristol and Swindon, and she has regular customers who travel to Chippenham from around Wiltshire and beyond.

“I get lots of people that come from Swindon and Bath just because they know the cake is good. I’ve had great reviews so I must be doing something right.

“I makes you feel so proud because I have a regular customer who comes here once a month from Bristol and buys loads of cakes to last for a month, it’s lovely.”

Rubydoocakes also recently won a Prestige award for the best cake shop in the south west.

The new store opened on Wednesday, March 15 and is available on Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo.