A friend crowned him ‘the pound cake king,’ sparking a Macon man’s baking business

James Havior of Macon calls himself the slick baker.

His home -based, cake-baking business is Havior Cake Factory. His business slogan, “HaviorCakeandeatit2.”

He’s known by word of mouth and via his business Facebook page.

“I actually started on a fluke,” said Havior, a dialysis technician and certified nursing assistant. “I already had been baking cakes — just trying out different recipes and getting people to test them out and taking them to people.

“And one of my best friends was like, ‘You need to be selling these cakes.’”

Havior said he was hesitant at first.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know about this,’ but he was like, ‘Yeah, you need to be selling these cakes.’ So, he made me a flyer and entitled me the pound cake king,” Havior said with a laugh. “I put the flyer out and just by the grace of God, people just started ordering.

“They enjoyed what I put out, and my name started growing from that, and that’s how we get here today.”

From a hobby to a business

Today, just over year since he sold his first cake, Havior is baking about 14 to 15 cakes and from 20 to 22 pies a week from the kitchen of his mom’s home on Woodland Drive.

He also makes cheesecakes and brownies.

“Everything is made from scratch” and made to order.

“I specialize in pound cakes, layer cakes,” Havior said. “A red velvet cake is like $45. My pound cakes start from like $30 and up, so it just depends on the cake.”

His most often ordered cakes include his chocolate, red velvet, key lime, lemon pound cake and sour cream pound cake.

“To be honest I really don’t care for sweets, but my favorite is the red velvet cake,” he said.

Havior also makes alcohol-infused cakes, and with Cinco de Mayo coming up May 5, he’s planning to offer a Margarita pound cake.

He sold his first cake — a key lime pound cake— in March 2020.

Dream big

Recently, Havior signed his first contract to make cakes and pies for a new Macon restaurant, Aroma Essence Southern Cuisine at 881 Wimbish Road.

He met co-owner Lorietta Brown through a mutual friend and they struck up a conversation. Brown and her mother, Lula Williams, opened their restaurant April 13.

“We were at a gathering one evening watching a football game and Lorietta came and we was just talking and (a mutual friend) was telling her I cook, and she was telling me they were opening up a restaurant and she wanted to try my stuff,” Havior said. “So, last year, she ordered a couple of cakes for her and her mom to try and they loved them.

“They hit me back when it was getting close for them to open and told me they wanted me to bake for them.”

Havior said partnering with Aroma Essence Southern Cuisine has been a blessing.

“I see it as an opportunity to grow my business and learn from people who have been in business since I’m new at this,” he said. “They’re very welcoming to me and understanding.”

As his business grows, Havior said he’d like to open a storefront where he can sell cake and pie slices and offer tea and coffee.

He also would do all his baking at the storefront, and customers could place orders there as well.

He’s got big dreams.

“My ultimate goal, hence the name, Havior Cake Factory, is to have my cakes distributed and shipped throughout America,” he said.

For more information, check out Havior Cake Factory on Facebook, or contact him at haviorj@gmail.com or at 478-841-8123.

This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.