Couple opens a new cakery in Macon. Try ‘a taste of wonderfulness’ or an ‘ooey gooey’

Reia Collins has been baking for 30 years.

She’s worked for three bakeries and three lunchrooms.

The Toombs County native started giving away her cakes to family and friends. Word spread and people started asking her to bake cakes for them.

That led to her baking and selling cakes as a side hustle. She created a business card for Reia’s Cakes.

While she was working at a Vidalia bakery, the man that she would later marry, Steven Collins, came in to look around to see if the spot was something his grandmother, whom he was caring for, would enjoy. He saw Reia peeking out of from the back of the store.

The owner of the bakery played matchmaker and invited them both to a Thanksgiving dinner. They married in June 2016 and moved to Lizella. He’s from Crawford County.

“I’m a sweet Vidalia onion, and he’s a sweet peach,” Reia likes to say.

Layers

In 2017, they started Layers in their home. She got a cottage license and set up business in their kitchen. They created a Facebook page.

In the mix was a two-year stint when Reia took an office job. But she missed baking.

Her cake slices and whole cakes became so popular the couple decided to open a storefront.

“We had outgrown the house,” she said.

Their storefront at 3001 Vineville Ave. opened Feb. 1 in the former Mr. Pingo’s House restaurant location.

“I do the baking,” she said. “He does everything else.”

Everything else includes deliveries which Steven does in between his morning and afternoon routes as a Crawford County school bus driver and afterward if he doesn’t finish in between routes.

His delivery stops include auto dealerships, doctor’s offices and individual customers — just anywhere where people need a smile and a tasty bite to brighten their day, he said.

‘A taste of wonderfulness’

Sometimes setting up a table with cake slices outside the storefront, Steven smiles and waves to encourage motorists to pull into the parking lot and try a cake slice. Each slice is in a plastic container with a fork attached to the container.

“Rip off the fork, open it up and take a deep breath,” Steven likes to tell customers. “It all goes together to make that taste of wonderfulness. It’s so good.”

Layers of love

At the storefront, which is also a bakery, Reia lovingly crafts her cakes, cheesecake cakes and cheesecakes.

“I like to bake to make people happy,” she said.

Reia tries to keep four to five cakes on hand that she sells by the slice, including a 10-layer chocolate cake, a banana pudding cake, a red velvet cheesecake cake and a strawberry crunch cake as well as what she calls an “ooey gooey.”

The turtle ooey gooey has a chocolate cake bottom with cheesecake on top, sprinkled with toasted nuts, homemade caramel and chocolate ganache.

Reia also features four additional cakes weekly and “whatever I get a hankering to bake.” She posts the featured four on the business Facebook page.

These delightful treats go pretty fast. She also sells whole cakes by advance order.

Additionally, Reia has two restaurants for customers: J-Byrd’s Butt Hutt in Roberta and the Pond in Warner Robins.

On a recent visit, Reia had just finished icing a strawberry heaven cake for the Pond that she next cut into slices and boxed up for delivery.

Some of her other cakes include a red velvet cheesecake cake, a key lime cheesecake cake, a cinnamon roll cheesecake, a pecan pie cheesecake, a strawberry crunch cake and peach cobbler cheesecake cake — to name a few.

“Everything — it’s not out of a can — it’s homemade,” she said. “The fruit is always fresh, cooked until thick, pureed, then spread in between the layers as well as on top of the cheesecakes.”

She also offers customized, special occasion cakes for weddings, birthdays and such. For her 3-year-old grandson, Wesson Hattawy, she made a dragon birthday cake, and for her 8-year-old grandson, Holden Hattaway, she made a Mario birthday cake.

While she has tried and true recipes, Reia is always on the lookout for something new to try.

“We’re foodies,” she said. “We go everywhere. We’re always looking for the next taste, the next texture. We love new things.”

Sheri Marshall, a traveling nurse, picked up four slices of different cakes to take back to the office at Piedmont North in Macon where she’s currently working.

“Her baking is delicious,” Marshall said.

Growing

In the future, the couple expects to relocate Layers to downtown Macon in the former Bibb Music Center space on Cotton Avenue. The building is currently undergoing renovations for future lofts while the first floor space is expected to be built out for the Layers storefront and bakery.

They’re not sure about whether they’ll also keep their current Vineville location, but they are considering making it a ghost kitchen for baking only.

Reia envisions baking and operating the storefront on Cotton Avenue and hiring a staff to handle the ghost kitchen.

Meanwhile, the couple is happy watching their business grow at their new Vineville storefront.

Hours are noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The number is 478-391-4818.