Home bakery opens new shop in SLO County — with cakes, coffee, cookies and more

Atascadero is getting a new bakery, with full-sized customizable cakes, French press coffee and a tribute to its namesake cat.

Wendy White’s Bakery has its grand opening set for early April, but it’s opening its doors for the first time for hungry customers on Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m.

The business started — and is still operating — in 2024 as a home bakery at its co-owners’ Mercedes and Kyle White’s house in Paso Robles. Now, the couple is excited to expand into a brick-and-mortar business.

Wendy White’s Bakery was originally set to open back in the summer, but construction delays at Central Coast Distillery’s old spot at 5804 Traffic Way in Atascadero slowed things down for the bakers.

“It is such a relief for me and my husband,” Mercedes White told The Tribune. “When you’re doing a big construction project, there’s always unexpected things that sort of go wrong or cause delays, and so that part was stressful. Now, having all the permits and stuff, it’s a relief and so exciting.”

Finishing touches are being added to the bakery’s space, which will sell everything from muffins, cinnamon rolls and cookies to cupcakes, lemon bars and cake pops.

For a last-minute birthday cake, Wendy White’s has a display fridge with cakes of every flavor ready to pick up and have a “Happy Birthday” message added with a name on the spot.

“As far as walking in and buying a cake here in Atascadero, I think it’s pretty much just Vons,” White said. “So we’ll be another option.”

Beyond cookies, coffee and morning breakfast items, Wendy White’s also takes orders for custom birthday and wedding cakes.

As for the question of who is Wendy White, she is actually the Whites’ tortoiseshell cat, who is not actually busy baking in the kitchen but is featured in a painting on the wall behind the order counter, complete with a chef’s hat on Wendy’s head.

“It’s like Chef Wendy selling, that would be funny,” White said. “Someone says, ‘Oh, I want to speak to Wendy.’ We can say, ‘There she is.’”

The bakery is filled with light from its ceiling-high windows, which provide an “airy” and “cozy” feeling for the space Mercedes said. Potted plants, fun art on the walls and a bookshelf with a “take a book, leave a book” system are all future additions planned for the shop.

“It’s not a very big space, so even with the high ceiling, it does definitely have a cozy feeling to it,” she said. “We’re hoping that’ll be kind of a fun place to stop by.”

Wendy White’s Bakery will be open Saturday afternoon with a limited menu of cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls and cakes as part of the By Her Hands walkabout event celebrating women business owners and artists.

After that, the Whites are looking forward to their grand opening on April 3 and serving up their baked goods to Atascadero residents.

For more information

Wendy White’s Bakery is set to be open Wednesdays to Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with hours subject to change.

For more information about the newest bakery in town, visit its Instagram or email hello@wendywhitesbakery.com.