If you're looking for a sweet surprise for your mother this weekend, a Cabbagetown bakery has the recipe. Sweet Cheats, the popular bakery and coffee shop on Carroll Street, is rolling out special treats for Mother's Day.
Fox 5 Atlanta visited the shop to preview the weekend lineup, which includes decorated cakes, cupcakes, and the Southern-style desserts that have made Sweet Cheats a neighborhood institution. Owner Shirley Hughes opened the bakery in 2011 after a career as a competitive bodybuilder, trading protein shakes for buttercream frosting.
The shop has become a gathering spot in Cabbagetown, the historic mill village neighborhood east of Downtown that has evolved into one of Atlanta's most walkable communities. Sweet Cheats sits along Carroll Street near the Cabbagetown Park and the Oakland Cemetery, drawing foot traffic from residents, BeltLine users, and visitors exploring the neighborhood's Victorian shotgun houses and street art murals.
Mother's Day is one of the bakery's busiest weekends of the year, with customers ordering cakes in advance and stopping by for last-minute gifts. Hughes told Fox 5 she started the business to create a community space where neighbors could gather over coffee and dessert, and 15 years later the formula is still working.
Sweet Cheats is open Saturday and Sunday with extended hours for Mother's Day weekend. The shop accepts both walk-in orders and advance reservations for custom cakes.
