Ashley’s Tiers of Love, 420 Marshall Street, is making some changes to better serve their downtown (and outside of downtown) patrons! Starting Tuesday, their hours will shift to 7:30 am – 4:30 pm Tuesday-Friday|| 9:00 am- 2:00 pm on Saturday, and their menu will expand to include a big breakfast sandwich and hash browns!
New breakfast options are coming starting Tuesday, Aug. 8.
In just a short time, bake master Ashley Papion has won over legions of admirers; people who prior to her opening did not know that life truly does revolve around delicious almond-flavored wedding cake cupcakes and cool and creamy strawberry or peanut butter cheesecake in a jar. How foolish of them.
Baking up sausage-filled kolaches.
Now, she will be offering breakfast, too. First up on the menu will be a Breakfast Sandwich of egg, sausage and cheese on a Kaiser bun. You will be able to order up a side of crispy hashbrowns and a variety of beverages that includes cold orange juice and hot coffee. Of course, you can also opt to start your day with a cinnamon roll or sausage filled kolache, or, for that matter, cookies, cupcakes, cake pops or cheesecake in a jar!
You know you’re at the right place when you see the sign!
The new hours and menu additions will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 8.
The story of Ashley’s Opening| June 21, 2023
Ashley Papion is tired, but happy. The owner of the newly-opened Ashley’s Tiers of Love bakery at 420 Marshall Street is ending her first week in business, and as evidenced by the nearly-empty product cases in her store late Wednesday afternoon, response has been good.
Happy campers at Ashley’s Tiers of Love.
“Crowds have been steady,” she told me Wednesday, June 21. “We ran out of spoons our fourth day!!” Ashley says her 200 spoons were gone much faster than she anticipated, and her cakes in a jar in a variety of delicious flavors like banana pudding and strawberry have been flying out of their refrigerated case.
Some of those yummy cakes in a jar.
Her homemade cinnamon rolls are selling up a storm, as are her cupcakes, especially the Butterfinger, Here Comes the Bride (almond) and Birthday Cake (vanilla) flavors. “It’s been interesting seeing what people have been attracted to.”
She is also jazzed about the reception of her ‘Bones’ brand of flavored coffees. “We use Community for our daily unflavored coffees, but Bones is our special daily blend.” The shop is featuring a daily flavor like strawberry cheesecake, S’mores, peaches and cream, salted caramel and others.
Yums all around!
In addition to the homemade cupcakes, kolaches, cinnamon rolls, cake slices, cake tarts, cheesecake in a jar, and pre-baked cakes in a wide range of flavors (lemon, strawberry, peanut butter & more), Ashley is perhaps best known for her amazing, ornate, one-of-a kind specialty cakes for weddings, anniversaries, birthday and retirement events. 420 Marshall has now become the one-stop shop for your baking needs.
Grand Opening day.
“It’s been good,” Ashley says, with a tired smile. It has been good, and tastes good, too.
Ashley’s Tiers of Love at 420 Marshall Street is open Monday-Friday, 9 am-6 pm and Saturdays, 9 am- 2 pm. Go by and check out all that they have to offer.
Original Story Published June 15, 2023
All the last minute touches are being made at 420 Marshall Street, the home of downtown’s new custom cake shop and bakery. When I walked in earlier this week, co-owner Bobby Papion was working to position an ‘Ashley’s Tiers of Love’ light in the new phone booth selfie station. Though littered with tools and still a work in progress, Ashley and Bobby’s space was looking far different than it did when it was Theo’s Diner some years ago, and more recently, Retro Downtown Cafe.
Bobby showing off the selfie station.
Ashley Papion, who was in the kitchen working on one of her legendary custom cakes, came out to ask Bobby a question about a menu stand in their new brick-and-mortar shop, a place she has wants to be thought of as ‘swanky but comfortable, a place to relax and enjoy.’ When you walk in, you are greeted with cool, calm, and pink. Though it is a place with a definite feminine feel, chances are better than good that even the manliest man will find himself enjoying daily freshly made cinnamon rolls, kolaches, cupcakes, cake squares, and fresh hot coffee and coffee drinks. All will be available daily to eat in or carry out.
The new look at 420 Marshall Street.
Eat in or take out.
The new bakery called Ashley’s Tiers of Love will open its doors Friday, June 16 at noon. Hours will be Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm and Saturdays, 9 am- 2pm. Ashley will start with baked goods, but once things are dialed in with the running of the shop, she also plans to host cake decorating classes and cake tastings. In the not-too-distant future, homemade milkshakes may also appear on the menu.
One of the many custom cakes Ashley has created.
Ashley and her cakes are well known in the Facebook universe. Her Facebook page is filled with the variety of cakes she has created, like artwork, for customers. Ashley did not come by her baking skills from her mother or grandmother, in fact, she remembers her mother baking only an occasional 7-Up Cake.
Ashley in her ‘creative place.’
Ashley took up baking for purely pragmatic reasons- her three children, now ages 23, 20 and 14- liked fancy cakes, and they were expensive. She started watching programs like ‘Cake Boss’ and YouTube videos on baking, and taught herself how to do it through extensive trial and a lot of error.
Ashley with her favorite tool- an offset spatula.
“Baking is OK,” says Ashley, “but the decorating is my favorite.” Ashley loves that cakes have become an art form; it’s the art, the look, the making everything ‘just so’ that is her daily challenge and delight. She’s been baking now for nine years and likes to believe there is nothing she cannot do with a cake- within reason. Her most difficult to date was a 3-dimensional Harley Davidson motorcycle, complete with ‘sparks’ coming out of the tailpipes. She has created nine-tier cakes that can feed 300, she has created cakes that are as tall as the ceiling when sitting on a table, she has taken one sentence ideas and woven them into tasty things of beauty.
An Ashley creation.
A ‘normal’ cake (if there is such a thing) generally takes about three days to complete and Ashley is often working on four or five cake projects at a time. The look is important, but taste is more so. She smiles and nods and shares the many flavors that are available, everything from the traditional buttercream and chocolate to ‘banana pudding, peanut butter, or pineapple.’ The extensive cake flavor list goes on.
The Ashley and Bobby ‘power’ team!
She and Bobby are excited to be able to move her ever-growing collection of pans, spices, toppings and equipment out of their house and into a store. “Something had to give” Bobby laughs. “Every closest, pantry, cabinet and cupboard was filled to overflowing,” agrees Ashley. Bobby, who shares that in addition to being the all-around handyman that he is Ashley’s “number one fan” managed to discover their new location quite by accident. Perhaps it was meant to be- “some might say destiny” he says as he looks around at what they have created.
Exterior, 420 Marshall Street
Ashley wants her soon-to-be-customers to know that the care she puts into her cakes will also go into the other baked goods at her shop, “I want the taste and texture to be perfect; I will be handling that (instead of staff)” she says. She is also excited about the coffee brands and the delicious options “S’mores, cookies and cream, salted caramel’ and others that will be offered.
We are excited to have the opportunity to soon try all that Ashley’s Tiers of Love has to offer, and even more excited to welcome Ashley and Bobby to their new business ‘home’ downtown.
Welcome Ashley and Bobby to downtown Friday, June 16 at noon at their Grand Opening at 420 Marshall Street.
Article dated June 8, 2023
A new cakery and bakery will be opening its doors in downtown Shreveport on Friday, June 16 at 420 Marshall Street. Ashley and Bobby Papion are opening Ashley’s Tiers of Love, their first brick-and-mortar bakery. The initial menu will feature coffee (and soon, tea), and delicious ready-to-eat baked goods such as cinnamon rolls, cupcakes and kolaches. You will also be able to order or pick up one of Ashley’s remarkable custom cakes.
Sprucing up a dark interior.
For months now, the couple have been hard at work…Ashley on deciding the look of her new shop and keeping up with the orders for her amazing cakes which regularly break the Internet and Bobby, at making her great ideas come to life.
One of Ashley’s latest creations.
Bobby chuckles at being ‘an army of one’ in doing the many things the shop requires in order to look good and be legal for opening. He says the list of ‘honey-do’s’ has been lengthy.
1001 things to do in order to open a business!
“We are excited, anxious, and nervous,” Bobby says. “I’ve worked on projects before but this one has been the longest.” Bobby’s work is definitely paying off. The formerly dark space has been transformed.
The front of Ashley’s Tiers of Love, 420 Marshall St.
It’s important to Bobby and Ashley that the community know the tables are there for a reason. They want downtownies (and others) to make the shop a ‘go to’ for meetings over coffee, for mid-morning and late afternoon breaks and delicious treats. Her hours are intended to make that possible. Tuesday-Friday the business will be open from 9 am- 6pm, Saturdays, from 9 am- 2 pm.
Welcome downtown, Ashley and Bobby! We’re thrilled that you are the newest members of our downtown ‘neighborhood.’
