SUCCESS IS SWEET
Second store in busy Stockland Cairns Shopping Centre may be icing on the cake Couple’s work set to pay off
A LONGSTANDING Cairns business known for its wide range of sweet treats is opening a second store.
As it approaches its 20th year of operation, the Swiss Cake and Coffee Shop will soon toast a new site at Stockland Cairns Shopping Centre.
It comes just 12 months after the business was placed on the market with owners Truls and Rebecca Fauske keen to move overseas.
But Mrs Fauske, a law graduate and mother-of-four, said they decided to keep the store and remain in Cairns after becoming aware of the Earlville expansion opportunity.
“It was very unexpected, but we chose to grab the bull by two horns and see where it took us,” she said.
The new store will complement the business’ wellknown home on Grafton St.
Mrs Fauske said most of the baking would be done from the Earlville site with the Grafton St premises remaining the main patisserie.
“We’ve been in high demand for a while, especially with the wholesale side of things, and needed a bigger space,” she said.
The expansion comes just three years after Mr and Mrs Fauske took on the business.
Despite coming in as untried bakers, they have managed to maintain and grow the Swiss Cake and Coffee Shop’s reputation.
Raised in Cairns, Mrs Fauske moved away for university but returned to the Far North to raise a family and run a small business.
“We thought it would be good to bring up the kids away from the hustle and bustle of the big city,” she said.
Her husband, who comes from a strong IT and marketing background, has since mastered the art of baking.
Mrs Fauske said diversity of product was one of the keys to succeeding in a tough small business environment.
“It is difficult and we have not taken the easy road, that’s for sure,” she said.
“We’ve put in the work and hopefully now some rewards are starting to come.”
Mrs Fauske said they had hired a new head baker who would be based at the new Earlville site.
If all “goes to plan”, she said the new store would be opening for business on Friday, September 8.