Sugar ‘n Spice

This review is for the beginning cake decorating class.
I recently finished a beginning cake decorating class here. I was pretty impressed! It was very informative and also a fun way to spend my Wednesday night for a few weeks. Although I am not going to take the intermediate class right now (I might in a few months), I already signed up to take their beginning fondant class next month.
Things to note: I signed up through their website and had no idea the beginning class is 5 weeks long. So I showed up to the first class thinking that was the only class and that all the materials would be there, and I would go home that night with a cake. I had assumed wrong. The first class goes over how to make the frosting, proper technique for baking a cake, etc. The 2 hours are packed with information. Then you need to make and bring your own cake and frosting to each of the following 4 classes which is when you do the decorating part. The website is very basic and does not clearly state any of this, I found out the first day. Another woman in the class on the first day was surprised by this too, so I am not the only one to not know this. In the end, I do prefer making the materials at home because then you learn how to do it! Just be prepared for cake baking and frosting making ‘homework’ if you are going to take the beginning cake decorating class. And invest in a cake carrier. I highly recommend the class!

Love this place ! You can find everything there to purchase the things you need to make cakes, cupcakes, trimmings, cookies ! Pretty must everything ! Sweet person who’s gives you tips if you have question about the items

I came to this shop a couple years ago and am still in love with it.
I was on an «adult spring break» staycation. I had to do something different each day that week. I stopped by this shop after taking an archery lesson. (Super fun). That store visit was the pivotal moment where my cupcake baking skills took off. I could not believe all of the cooking supplies in this place.
I got maple flavoring for my icing. I could have spent a couple hundred $ on just flavors. I bought some easy to use icing tools. I’m not a trained decorator so I needed something easy to use. There was colored sugar, fondant and just all sorts of other awesome accessories for making beautiful desserts.
They have classes too. I hope to make it to one sometime soon.
I must say the place is a bit overwhelming and is for folks super into baking. It’s not cute and neat like Michael’s craft store. So come here if you’re into baking and want to step up your game.

This review is a little late but here it goes:
From the outside you wouldn’t expect to walk in to a castle. This place has more than I expected.
Location: Its right off the freeway and super easy to find. It has its very own parking lot (can get full as it shares with other businesses).
Staff: There was this older woman, SUPER knowledgeable. I asked her a question and she basically gave chocolate /​coloring 101. She must have been a culinary teacher in her time. There is another woman named Joey who turned put to be the owner. OMG super nice, super helpful and even extended to help find products that aren’t in the store. Can she just be my bff?! i
Products: There so many things to choose from. Things that I may not use but i know others would like. Cookie cutters, cake pans, liners, icings and all. The ready made stuff at the store is bomb for those quick projects and the PRICES are right in this store.
Classes: After chatting with the ladies they mentioned classes are offered for all types of baking. Whats cool is they have even done a kids baking camp before. Turns out I know someone who’s sent their kids.
Conclusion: Staff is awesome, supplies galore, classes and easy to get to. I’d highly recommend this place! Just do it…

I took a buttercream decorating class here a few years ago. I liked it so much I came back for the fondant decorating class. A really great place for beginner classes. Fast forward a few years and I still come here for my baking/​decorating supplies. I have always found them to be helpful and pleasant and recommend them to any of my friends interested in cake baking/​decorating. I’ve never been disappointed with their selection.

Great spot for inexpensive baking goods. Not fancy but had what I needed. They also offer baking classes.

Really reasonable prices and there is way more here for cake decorations than Michaels. I don’t know where else you can find a selection like this in a store. Nice and helpful lady tending to the shop. It’s not fancy but they have what you need and more. Marked parking outside and fondant is half the price of Michaels with way more colors and size options.

Always my go-​to baking store. I love that it’s owned by the same person for years and love supporting her business. Always great service and shopping experience.

This is a great store that has all your baking decorating needs. It’s a tiny shop, but packed with goodies. They don’t have a variety of items, but they do have everything you could ever think of if you’re decorating.
I came in only looking for a new piping tip and I came out with cool cookie cutters and different colored fondants!

The only place I go to get my baking supplies ! I live in San Jose and I drive all the way to Daly city just for this bake store. Love the people and love that they always have what I need.

One star is actually an overstatement.
I was in the baking supply store earlier today (about noontime). After perusing the aisleways I found the items I needed to fill a cupcake order.
I took the items to the front counter for checkout only to be totally ignored by the blonde lady working there. She continued on a personal phone call relaying that she could leave work early and that she did not have to be at her child’s school until 6 pm. As the conversation wore on I became increasingly annoyed and I ended up leaving the items I was ready to purchase on the counter and saw myself out of the store empty-​handed.
Customer service 101 is to clearly acknowledge a customer’s presence. How hard could it have been– I was the sole patron in the establishment, from the time I walked in to the time I walked out. The power of a warm greeting can do wonders, especially for a mom and pop, outdated and frankly kind of dirty store.
I would recommend Busy Baker to our baking enthusiasts in the area. Its on San Mateo Avenue in San Bruno. Same (or even better) inventory, friendly service, and a clean environment.

Mom and pop shop for baking and more importantly, fancy baking ;) This is a must-​go shop if you’re into baking! This store literally and probably has everything! I’ve visited this store a couple of times and is amazed by selection of extracts and flavorings. Lemonade, mint chocolate chip, maple, mango, piña colada, are just a few that made me make this face o. O!!! They also sell cake bases and boxes, cupcake holders, cake stands, cutters, already-​made fondant decorations, coloring gels, candy making molds and flavorings, anything and everything you can think of!!!
THE BEST PART: they have already made cakes and cake mixes. OMG i bought their chocolate pre made cake, and it was the best decision ever, such a time saver, and it tasted AMAZING. I paired it with their cream cheese filling and the frosting. literally looked and tasted like a store bought cake. no joke! and recently, i decided to make some cupcakes for my coworker’s birthday. They close at 7pm, so i was able to go after work, PLUS! Sugar ‘n Spice saved my life! Bought their chocolate cake mix, and frosting and was inspired with their flavoring extracts section. I picked this mint chocolate chip flavoring… :O smart choice. Compliments all over the next day! Thanks Sugar ‘n Spice!
The lady at this store is really sweet too. I believe she’s the mom of the shop. I asked a couple questions about how to do this, etc. and she was so kind and interested in what I’m making when answering my questions. :))
P. S. They also offer classes in the back of the shop, check out the class session schedules, you won’t regret it!

Culinary Camp Review
A couple of weeks ago my 11 yr old daughter attended the teen culinary camp for a week at Sugar –n Spice. My daughter loves to bake and was very excited about attending the camp. She made a cake and decorated the cake with fondant and piping. It was wonderful. They also made brownies, fudge, rice krispy treats and cake pops. I would have rated this camp — five stars, but the instructor, Joey has a sailor’s mouth. By day2 my daughter came back home reporting Joey said, «Where’s the f***ing icing?» Everyday, there was some incident which caused the instructor to blow her cool and mouth off. I generally judge a camp by the enthusiasm my daughter has at the end of the week. Even though she learned some worthwhile skills, the camp did not inspire her to want to bake more. The language and the temperament of the instructor really affected the week my daughter spent at the camp.

While this place is not a fancy Williams-​Sonoma-​esque cookware store, it is a great baking supply store that sells a large variety of things you might need for a special baking project. I scoured the city looking for plastic acetate for a Momofuku cake recipe and was extremely happy to find out that Sugar ‘n Spice had what I needed! I found the staff to be friendly as well. Parking can be tough on weekends because of the neighboring gym.

I was surprised to read the negative reviews posted, and it is unfortunate those reviewers had unpleasant experiences.
I started shopping with Sugar ‘n Spice when they had a much smaller shop in the Avenues in San Francisco. I loved that it was a family run business, and I had the pleasure of meeting the mother and one of her sons. They were super helpful in getting me started with not only purchasing supplies for candy making, but with giving me some «free» tips for my first candy making experience. It all turned out incredible, and I never took the class. I shared my experience and some of my supplies with my sister, who began purchasing her supplies from them for her homemade fudge, which became «Best of Show» — «Blue Ribbon» fudge.
I am looking forward to visiting Sugar ‘n Spice again very soon — to replenish my supplies, browse, to thank them for giving me a kick-​start with candy making, and to just say hello.

Sugar and Spice had recent reviews that weren’t so nice.
Despite the bad reviews I read — I balanced it with my longtime Unilocal Elite observational experience that more than 50% of businesses that remain viable after unfavorable reviews are often ones that are worth a chance because they usually implement positive improvements.
I decided to give them a chance. I visited 4 separate times. I am so happy to share i’ve experienced consistently warm, friendly, helpful assistance.
The ladies who work here are like sweet grandmas… armed with serious baking skills. I have learned some invaluable tips when I asked specific questions related to products they sell that I wanted to buy.
This store isn’t as elegant and fancy as a corporate competitor. It shows its age and the signs of modest profit, which I think gives it character. The plus is it is seriously full of an impressive amount of inventory.
They carry well known brands like Ateco, CK Products, Satin Ice, and Wilton — to name a few. They also offer classes worth considering — if you don’t have any skill or want to gain more skill!
The best way I can describe this great mom and pop is whether you are a beginner or advanced home baker — you will find pretty much anything you need to make your special occasion treat!
Is this business perfect? No. Have they improved? Yes. Can they continue to improve? Yes — signage inside the shop, and reorganization of their inventory would be the next area to work… me kindly thinks.
But I won’t discredit the great customer service turnaround they’ve accomplished after reading and considering feedback from previous unfavorable Unilocal reviews. I am loyal to businesses with consistently great customer service.
Every time I leave, I remember something I saw that I have to buy next visit! That is a good sign!
Im glad I gave them a chance. For me, Sugar and Spice makes my love for cake decorating very very nice!

My tale: S’nS was offering a cake decorating class offer through Groupon. I read the reviews on Unilocal and vacillated on actually purchasing the Groupon — would I be a victim of the terrible customer service? But like a dummy I bought it. And straight out of Central Casting comes the crotchety voice on the other side of the line when I call to book a class: she tells me that they’re not accepting any more Groupons and to get a refund from them.
2 points:
1) I purchased the last night of the offer. Only 60-​something class Groupons had been sold — certainly a manageable amount of attendees. And no one held them hostage and forced them to make the offer.
2) I can only imagine that the point of offering a Groupon was to attract customers. Yes, they were offering a discount on classes, but they would have made up for it by selling supplies and gaining a long-​term customer. So, I don’t understand the up side for them: irritate me and every other sap who wanted to take a class to ENSURE that those potential customers never walk in you door? Imagine this: my only experience with this business consisted of a phone call and now I don’t feel comfortable going there. Bummer.

— Customer Service; Very POOR.
— Over-​priced for a lot of things that you could easily get in any larger
establishment, or online!
— The lighting and the entire store feels creepy and dated!
— Layout; cluttered and disorganized!
I came into this cluttered store, and did not plan to circle around just to find a couple things I needed, so I asked Nicole kindly if she could tell me where they are. She looks annoyed at me from the beginning and irritated that I didn’t already know the layout of their store upon walking in.
Then I get to the counter and asked to take a look at the piping tips behind the counter. She said, «Well you have to tell me what you want because I’m not going to bring every tip over to you!» Now Nicole, how am I suppose to know what kind of piping tips you have if they are hidden behind the counter?! I asked her for the smallest one, and she went over to open several mini drawers in search of it. I respond to her, «Its helpful for me to see them before I purchase, so I just want to take a look at them first.» She then responds with her EYES ROLLED, «I’m getting it, Ok!» I just laughed at her immature behavior in response.
**Don’t bother coming here unless you need some unusual baking items. Since their are other stores that offer similar products at FAR LESS the COST, and much better customer service!

GPS = fail. Double fail!
6″ springform pans, check! (And every other size)
Sugar decorations, check! (They’re too sweet to be edible but they were nice decorations!)
Boxes, cardboard bottoms, etc, they’ve got it all. They even have filling!
Helpful person behind the counter, double check! I was trying to find stuff, and go home to make a birthday cake, that needed to be transported the next day!
Prices = reasonable. It’s very reasonable pricing for baking needs.
I’ll be back for fondant cutouts and other stuff that I ‘need’ hahah

I found this place through Unilocal when searching for a baking supply store. I have driven by this place a countless number of times but always thought it was a bakery.
I was on the hunt for some plain, round decorating tips. Why the standard stores (Michael’s, Beverlys, Sur La Table, etc.) only stock tips with small openings is a mystery to me, as the larger tips are needed for cannoli’s, cupcakes, macarons, etc. My attempt to purchase these items online was frustrating as no one seems to list the tip numbers or sizes so it’s hard to tell if a «large» was really a «large». Plus the cost to ship those tips are 3 or 4 times the cost of the tip itself!
The store is filled to the brim with everything a person could want for making and decorating cakes and cupcakes, and have tools, fondant, icing, fruit and cream fillings, cookie cutters, sprinkles, platters, liners, dyes, powders, gels, etc. The items are more expensive than what can be found online, but unless the shipping is free, you’re better of buying these items locally. Plus, it helps to have someone there to answer questions. They also offer classes.
I was helped by a young woman and she was pretty helpful and rather friendly. She didn’t seem that familiar with all the items in the store but she did try (and succeeded) in helping me locate what I needed.
If you are into baking and decorating, this store is for you.