‘A family affair.’ Macon natives open Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in Warner Robins

Macon natives and sisters Sandy Kahley and Heather Jordan just opened a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in Warner Robins.

The popular franchise is known for handcrafted bundt cakes made with real butter, eggs and cream cheese.

The new store, the first Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise location in Middle Georgia, is at 810 Ga. 96, Suite 1400, in the Century Market Plaza.

Beginnings

The business partnership between the sisters was born out of desire to spend more time together.

They’ve always been close. But Jordan lives three hours away in Cartersville.

When a friend of Kahley’s asked her if she’d be interested in selling Crawford County based Pearson Farm peaches, the sisters jumped at the chance to go into business together.

Under their maiden name, the sisters started Gibbs Girls Peaches — successfully selling peaches at varied locations in seven markets in northwest Georgia on the weekends and with the help of family members, including their 82-year-old mom, Sarah Gibbs.

Six years later, they’ve embarked on their new venture with Nothing Bundt Cakes.

“One of the core values of this franchise is a servant’s heart and that’s one of the things that really led us to this company because we both love serving other people and bringing joy to other people,” Jordan said.

Jordan, a technical manager at Shaw Industries, a carpet and flooring company, handles the financial side of their business and helps out at the bakery as needed on weekends and holidays.

“We knew we wanted to make people happy,” Kahley said. “Food always makes people happy. What better way can we find to make people happy than peaches and bundt cakes?”

‘A family affair’

They also wanted to leave a legacy for themselves and their children. Some of their children are working alongside them.

“It’s truly a family affair,” Jordan said.

Kahley, who retired in April after 34 years in business development for heart services at Atrium Health Navicent, works full-time at their Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise. She’s the face of their business in the community, handling marketing events.

Her daughters hold various roles in their businesses.

Aynslee Kahley is the manager at their Nothing Bundt Cakes, Chloe Kahley crafts and frosts the cakes, Ellie Kahley serves customers in the storefront, and Rikki Phillps does fundraising for the bakery.

Nothing Bundt Cakes offers fundraising opportunities for sports teams, schools and churches to sell their products and receive a portion of the sales.

Phillips also now operates Gibbs Girls Peaches with the help of two of Jordan’s sons, Christian O’Dell and Zachary O’Dell.

Jordan’s daughter, Cassidy O’Dell, is a froster at their Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise.

The sisters also noted that they couldn’t have launched the business without the support of their spouses.

What to expect

At Nothing Bundt Cakes, customers can expect to find various-sized cakes from full-sized to miniature to bite-sized by the dozen. Tiered cakes for large celebrations also may be ordered.

The cakes are baked fresh on site and come in nine signature flavors and one featured flavor that’s rotated

The signature flavors include red velvet, chocolate chocolate chip, lemon, and white chocolate raspberry. These four are the top sellers.

Other signature flavors include strawberries and cream, snickerdoodle, confetti, carrot, classic vanilla and a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie.

Jordan’s favorite is the white chocolate raspberry, while Sandy Kahley’s favorite is the strawberries and cream.

The current, featured flavor is key lime. The next featured flavor will be lemon raspberry, which starts Aug. 1.

All the cakes feature a signature cream cheese frosting with a choice of thick frosting petals or a delicate drizzle. A variety of cakes are expected to be available daily in the shop, while cakes for holidays and celebrations are generally sold by order.

Nothing Bundt Cakes was founded in 1997 in Las Vegas by Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz who joined home kitchens baking for family and friends. Today, there are nearly 450 locations in the U.S. and Canada, including more than a dozen in Georgia.

The Warner Robins location opened Saturday, with a grand opening set for Aug. 11 with the first 50 customers when the store opens to get a free “bundlet” card for a year. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The number is 478-209-2352.