Orlando Business Journal
May 31, 2004

Grown-up treats in store at Dessert Lady's place
Bob Mervine - Staff Writer

Orlando - Welcome to the dessert bordello, where the only sinful things are the pastries.

For the last six years, baker Patti Schmidt has successfully navigated the intricacies of specialized catering, developing a following of restaurants eager for her carrot cake and mini-indulgences.

Now she's ready to grow: Schmidt has opened her own store, The Dessert Lady, in a strip mall along busy Kirkman Road.

It's a dramatic change from where she started -- in a garage, using flavors and donated ovens from a mentor to keep the business afloat.

Now, Schmidt envisions a future full of dessert cafes, "all with my name on the door."

Stylish decadence

The Dessert Lady is a combination wine bar, coffee and dessert resturant, and retail bakery with an overlay of casual elegance that Schmidt describes as a "decadent dessert and wine cafe."

Personal touches are everywhere, such as the large water glasses up and down the bar with several dozen pairs of reading glasses stuffed inside "for the people who leave their glasses somehwere else and can't read the menu," Schmidt explains.

There's brocade wallpaper and faux features, and local art with a strong feminine influence hangs throughout. The lady's bathroom has so many fantasy touches that Schmidt includes it when she's touring the 20 to 30 people a day who just stop by "just to see what we are."

Her menuu offerings also are chosen with care.

Schmidt's coffee is hand-roasted by Palmano's in Winter Park and ground to order. The win list was put together by a local wine merchant, Pierre Luigi Carta of Winebow, one of the largest importers of Italian wines in the country and one of Schmidt's many industry friends.

She has, in fact, developed quite an address book loaded with industry bigwigs. They include mentor Pat Casey, president of the Pike Corp., which licenses the Sam Snead name for a chain of casual restaurants, as well as New Business Development President Blaine Sweatt and Corporate Affairs Vice President Rick Walsh of Daren. She's also friendly with consultants such as Restaurant Partner's President Dave Manuchia and clients like the Orlando Magic's Bob Vander Weide.

"There's no doubt that Patti's magnetism can draw people kicking and screaming through the front door," Manuchia says. "She has the concept nailed down, and she knows who her market is. And she isn't afraid to ask for help."

Quality is king

However, all the influential friends in the world can't help if the result is not a high-quality product.

That's why Schmidt has created a menu that features a variety of choices: 14 items in the $6 to $8 range, with a $16 chocolate sampler tasting plate.

Then there's Schmidt's personal favorite: a chocolate zuccatto, a bowl lined with liqueur-moistened cake, filled with sweetened whipped cream and nuts and refrigerated for a day to solidify the filling before it is inverted, sliced and served.

So far, Schmidt has no staff, Manucia says that while a location showcasing Schmidt's winning personality and high-quality ingredients is a strong selling point, "the challenge is that she's a one-man band, and can she manage multiple locations effectively and remotely?"

"When I sell desserts wholesale," Schmidt says, "it takes 45 days to get paid, and there are always distribution issues. In the cafe, they come here to me, they pay full price, have an enjoyable experience and then tell their friends about us."