The District Chronicles

Issue date: 5/25/08 Section: Business

Media Credit: cakelove.com

The sweet aroma of freshly baking cakes waft through Cakelove, a bakery at 1506 U Street, N.W. Bakery owner Warren Brown tells a reporter a cake is a magical dessert similar to biscuits, but different because of its texture, sweetness, density, and warmth. It evokes a sense of memories like birthdays or eating cupcakes when you were a child.

Cakelove is well known in the DC area for it's unusual names like 'My Downfall" chocolate cake, 'Susie's a Pink Lady' vanilla and raspberry cake, 'Bedrolls' morning treat and 'Flatbeds' almond cake.

Customers and friends inspire the names Brown gives to his cakes. For example, he named 'Pam's Carrot Souffle' vanilla cake after a friend's carrot souffle he ate one Thanksgiving Day.

Once a lawyer for the federal government, Brown quit his job four years ago to become one of DC's most well-known and publicized bakers.

"When I was practicing law, I wasn't free to do what I wanted to do," Brown said. "This is three dimensional, there's flavor in it. Not just legal briefs."

Brown also figured the logic of 'you earn what you work for'. His former job for the United States included long grueling hours, which were only compensated with the pay.

"Money is not what it's all about. I'm rewarded in ways other than money, like people saying thank you, being happy, and creative," he said. "I like people accepting my view of a cake. It's gratifying."

The 38-year-old Brown grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He came to DC to attend George Washington University where he earned degrees in law and public health. The date he said he would never forget was October 27, 2000.

That's the day he quit practicing law.

Brown got a credit card, which he maxed-out on an oven, mixer, and other equipment for production. He began to bake for friends and special occasions at a commercial kitchen off T Street in March of 2002. He used revenue and a loan to finance the construction of his own bakery, Cakelove.

"Everything is made from scratch. We want to have an elegant appearance, but we care about the taste," he said.

Cakelove also goes by the motto of "Nothing is fat free. Only the finest all natural ingredients."

Brown believes the bakery needs no calorie intake charts. "We don't need to do a calorie count," he said. But he believes people should show moderation in the amount of fat they eat.

"We want to see you frequently, but not everyday," he said.

Location: 1506 U St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
Phone: (202) 588-7100

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