From foundation to fondant, Ohio State alum Adrian Jones shifted her talents from the makeup world to baking and cake decorating.
What started as an at-home business in 2010 flourished into a brick-and-mortar location that opened July 2023. Located inside the Westin Great Southern Hotel at 310 S. High St., Jones said Kennedy’s Kakes now serves guests as a full-fledged cafe and bakery.
“When they think of Kennedy’s Kakes, they think about the wedding cakes and the custom cakes. One thing they don’t realize, they can come in and get things every day.” Jones said. “We have a display, cupcakes, cookies, macarons, all those goodies. Then there’s an area where you can sit down. We have breakfast sandwiches, lattes and things like that.”
Jones said prior to starting her business, she worked as a makeup artist for over 20 years.
“You needed the makeup artists when it was before social media and YouTube and how everybody was teaching you how to do it,” Jones said. “I could see that industry changing.”
Jones decided to shift her talents in 2010 when her daughter was about 10 or 11. She started using her family’s pound cake recipe to serve clients, and ultimately named her at-home business Kennedy’s Kakes, after her daughter, Kennedy.
“I just tried to figure out, like, what did I want to do that would make — I was a single mom for so long — that would make a little money on the side and be away from that industry,” Jones said. “And that’s kind of how I got started.”
Kennedy’s Kakes’ owner Adrian Jones and her daughter Kennedy with two of the boutique’s custom cakes. Courtesy of Adrian Jones
Although her daughter is now a recent college graduate pursuing her movie production career in Los Angeles, Jones is embarking on a new chapter of her career too. The business, which started at home and shifted into a commercial kitchen space, YWCA Downtown, in 2019, is now going through its biggest adjustment yet in its new space.
“The biggest difference for me, I mean, I was a solo makeup artist. I did freelance. I did work for Charles Penzone, but you still feel a little more solo individual,” Jones said. “This, I have employees. I’m responsible not just for myself, but for them as well. I have a door, that door. And so it has to stay open.”
One of those employees, Bevin Kallmerten, a cake decorator at Kennedy’s Kakes, said she’s been decorating for over seven years, but only started working with Jones last year before she opened her doors. However, Kallmerten said she can see a difference in how this boutique functions.
“Everything that we put out, actually, we care about. It means something to us,” Kallmerten said. “So not only do we want it to taste awesome, which would be [baker] Theo taking care of that part of it, we want it to look amazing.”
Because Kennedy’s Kakes creates cakes for an array of events like weddings, baby showers and birthday parties, Kallmerten said her skills have become more refined.
“Where I mostly excelled before was like buttercream drawings and more cartoony, I guess. What I didn’t do often was like weddings and that kind of vintage, really classy level. And that has been something that I get to do here,” Kallmerten said.
A couple cutting a custom wedding cake created by Kennedy’s Kakes. Courtesy of Adrian Jones
Jones said the combination of all the employees’ talents allows the boutique to make their unique designs. She said she believes some of her talents stem from her experience as a makeup artist.
“I think the makeup artist part, I love color. I love mixing. I have a really good eye for color,” Jones said. “You can probably describe a color over the phone. And I can create it and I probably nail it.”
Along with the dozens of wedding cake orders that Kennedy’s Kakes receives each year, there have also been cakes commissioned for other events by some notable names. Jones said Kennedy’s Kakes has made cakes for former NBA player Trey Burke, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” personality Marlo Hampton and car company Ricart Ford.
Kallmerten said working with someone with the experience level of Jones has been one of her favorite parts of working at the boutique.
“Being part of something new, and building a new business with somebody who has worked for a while to get to this point and to see all the support that she has for a family or friends, and then to work with somebody who pushes me and has built my skill set,” Kallmerten said.
Kennedy’s Kakes’ location inside the Westin Hotel has been open for less than a year, but Jones said she’s already thinking of what’s next, including potentially franchising within other hotels.
“If it’s not just like the youth, you know, little girls or little boys, but even adults that are starting their business, that inspires me to keep going so they can see you can do it,” Jones said.
