At the entrance, a life-size statue of actor Humphrey Bogart stands beside a statue of a giant cow with lipstick. The ice cream parlor features Elvis vinyls, posters of a young Michael Jackson, and retro Coca-Cola signage. Faint lullabies from the carousel rides drift downstairs.
The Fat Apple Bakery, owned and operated by Don Rhodes and his family, has been a part of the Bridgeport community since 2019. Don’s wife Robyn Rhodes can be found running the register and helping customers satisfy their cravings. Daughter Whitney Stemkowski is the main baker who creates and decorates the sought-after sweet treats. She combines creativity with ambition in cakes such as her Barbie Dress Cake and plays on food trends such as the Dubai chocolate brownie.
Before opening the bakery, the Rhodes family ran a wedding catering company. They created more than just cakes and treats, offering a full menu. The company started when Don Rhodes worked as a florist that serviced weddings and found himself offering to bake cakes for some extra cash.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, however, along with the practice of social distancing, wedding business declined. The couple’s next project began when they started selling their sugar-shocked apples at school fundraisers.
“We’d have groups that would order 1,000 or 1,200 apples, and it was impossible,” Don says. “So we cut the fundraisers out.”
The Fat Apple Bakery’s name comes from its signature, coveted dessert-covered apples. These oversized apples are smothered in chocolates, candies, and more.
The bakery is more than a shop; it’s a curated space of unique sweets, toys, and displays. Don is always on the look for decoration. He shops estate sales, checks inventories of closing businesses, and accepts donations of nostalgic or wacky pieces to add to the ever-growing display.
“It’s things that hopefully will trigger something in a person’s mind to make them feel good,” Don says. “There’s no theme to anything except happiness. I could decorate this place two or three times over with the stuff I have, so we can take stuff down and put stuff up, but mostly it stays up once it gets up.”
Candies and goodies are likewise selected for their nostalgia factor. Shelves are stocked with vintage candies such as Razzles, Charleston Chews, and NECCO wafers.
As a grandfather, Rhodes prioritized opening a business that would appeal to all ages.
“We wanted to make it a place where people could come and enjoy themselves and look around,” Don Rhodes says. “The grandparents could bring the grandkids and the grandparents could tell them about ‘this is what I used to have when I was a kid.’”
The toy store upstairs features old school coin-operated rides, costumes and toys, along with displays of LEGOs, K’NEX and even a Build-A-Bear machine. Don Rhodes hopes to continuously improve his place to make it an immersive escape for children.
“When you come here, we want you to feel a lot happier, a lot better, and just put the cares of the world aside for a day,” Don Rhodes says. “Come in and feel a lot better when you leave than when you came.”
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