Businesses come and businesses go, but along South Temple, one of the shops that remains constant is Mrs. Backer's Pastry Shop.
This year the bakery is celebrating its 65th anniversary. Marty Backer, who owns the store with his wife, Renee, says it was an important aspect of his youth.
"My whole family grew up here," he said. "Our children have grown up working down here too. (Renee and I) are the only ones with children that would carry it on."
Over all 65 years it has been around, the business has remained in the family. Marty's grandfather, Gerhart Backer, immigrated to Utah from Germany in 1926 and started the West High Bakery. That bakery was turned over to one of his sons while another son, Martin A. Backer and his wife Phoebe, opened Mrs. Backer's Pastry Shop in 1941. The West High Bakery eventually went out of business, but Mrs. Backer's has remained strong. In 1983, Martin sold the business to Marty and Renee. Someday they anticipate selling it to their son, Martin Spencer Backer.
Cakes are one of the biggest draws for customers of Mrs. Backer's.
"We are really known for our decorated cakes," Renee Backer said. "We made a lot of our own tubes (for decorating) by using dentist drills. We are known for our cakes and the flowers on our cakes with soft icing so people can eat them."
Instead of being made out of fondant or hard icing, the Backers create their flowers with buttercream frosting so they not only look good but taste good as well, Marty said. The color of the flowers varies depending on the season.
Renee Backer said they have made birthday cakes for all of the LDS presidents from David O. McKay to President Gordon B. Hinckley (for both his 95th and 96th birthdays).
Some of their other top sellers include cookies, French pastries and cupcakes.
"Cupcakes came into vogue so we started meeting the needs of customers by putting flowers on the cupcakes," Renee said, noting the flowers change to turkeys, spiders and ladybugs to follow the season.
Competition isn't always fun, but it's good because it keeps them on their toes, Renee said. They try to distinguish their products by using high-quality, natural ingredients as much as possible.
Marty says it's interesting to watch customers as they come in because many comment on how good it smells. He likes being able to provide a product people can enjoy.
"I think a lot of the enjoyment is doing something that makes people happy," he said. "There's just really something when you know you've done a good job."
Change has been one of the hardest things to deal with from supplies no longer being available to variations in customers' eating preferences. People are a lot more diet conscious now than they were 65 years ago when the shop opened. Marty says his father used to sell numerous trays of sweet rolls and now they're lucky to sell one.
"To survive we have to adjust to people's eating habits," he said.
Although a greater diet consciousness has varied the products the Backers offer, Renee said in many ways it's beneficial too.
"On the upside people are more willing to pay for good, quality products," she said.
Mrs. Backer's Pastry Shop is located at 424 E. South Temple. The hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and it's closed Sunday.
Renee says she's grateful for the years she has been involved with Mrs. Backer's. She and Marty met at the bakery 35 years ago when she got a job there. They were married just over a year later.
"The older I get the more grateful I am to be able to do it (and) that I'm healthy enough to do it," she said.
E-MAIL: twalquist@desnews.com