TACOMA, Wash. — Cassandra Williams says Tacoma's Hilltop community has given her nothing but love, so for 22 years at her cake shop Love By The Slice, she has been giving it right back in the sweetest way possible.
Especially around her favorite holiday, Valentine's Day.
"I love the colors," she said. "I love red pink and white. I just love all that. I love teddy bears. I love candy. I love sweets It's just really one of the more perfect days in the calendar year. You can't beat it."
Williams says she's got a talented team who love what they do. Her customers always walk away with a treat and a lift in their spirits.
"Every day that we wake up, it's a blessing that we have life," Williams said. "And I believe we are given life to bring love to this world."
Love By The Slice signature cakes cost about $65.
Around the corner at the candy company his grandfather founded in 1949, Bill Johnson and his team are busy trying to keep up with demand.
"Valentines Day is a really big holiday for us selling chocolate," he said. "We do a lot of special packs, so people buy the heart boxes we sell and we pack them any way they like them packed so that's a lot of busy work for our packers upstairs."
Upstairs is where we meet Juanita Smith. We didn't shake hands for obvious reasons. Hers are covered in chocolate. She's hand dipping almond clusters that Kathie Todd will eventually pack up in bright red heart-shaped boxes.
Customers can get an 8 ounce box of candy custom filled for $18.50. They also offer prepackaged boxes and vegan assortments.
At Celebrity Cake Studio, in Tacoma's Dome District, you can meet up with friends and learn to make your own Valentine's Day treats.
"We are hosting cake decorating classes," Mary Anne Quitugua said. "Today we are making chocolate boxes and filling them with a lot of really fun goodies like truffles and chocolate covered strawberries so everyone is just creating their own little chocolate box cake."
Quitugua and her sister Odette D'Aniello grew up in a family bakery in Guam. They love passing on a lifetime's worth of their knowledge but they're just as happy selling cupcakes, tea cakes, and specially designed cookies you can pick up on your way home.
"We love the holiday," Quitugua said. "It's just so full of love."
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