Early each Friday and Saturday morning in summer, Lana Mcintire rolls a cute-as-a-button, Barbie-pink cart in front of her Bodega Bay home and plants signs along Highway 1, pointing beachgoers and coastal cruisers to her summertime-only sweet stop. “I feel like people see pink and think dessert,” says Mcintire.
The mom of two launched her Nom Nom Cakes bakery cart last summer to supplement her year-round custom cake business. It was an instant success. It also happens to be Bodega Bay’s only bakery.
Laden with cookies, tarts, and Mcintire’s signature cake jars, the sweet car is just a short detour into a residential neighborhood a few minutes’ drive north of town. The clientele is a mix of neighbors, day-trippers and tourists staying in nearby vacation rentals, who pull up, browse the shelves, and peek into the cart’s two refrigerated coolers in search of the perfect dessert.
The Nom Nom cart operates on a self-serve, honor-based payment system, accepting cash or Venmo. Since cell service in the area can be spotty, Mcintire posts her Wi-Fi password to help customers pay online. She is usually nearby in her home — happily baking, and ready to bring in sweet reinforcements when supplies run low. Mcintire notes that the cart often sells out on busy holiday weekends…