At the end of this month, students will have their pick of several dessert shops as The Mad Hatter's Bake Shop relocates to a shopping center just off East Campus.
Currently located in the First Union Plaza on Main Street, the bakery will move to the space previously occupied by the Broad Street Diner at the intersection of Broad and Main streets.
"[The bakery wants to] cater to more people in the Durham community," said shift leader Offen Zilla, who said the new location makes the shop easily accessible and more visible.
Zilla said that although Duke-related purchases--such as those made by the food service staff of Duke Hospital--account for some business, student purchases make up just 12 to 13 percent of total sales. He said he hopes the new location will benefit the shop through its accessibility to students and employees.
Although many students said they have only been to Mad Hatter's once or twice, some students, like senior Borah Hong, said they would visit the new location more frequently.
Freshman Bryant Harris said he found Mad Hatter's cake "exceptional" and praised the atmosphere for being inviting.
Sophomore Latricia Barksdale also said the products were high quality and that she was glad students already have the option of special ordering Mad Hatter's desserts through Uncle Harry's grocery store on Central Campus.
Mad Hatter's new location will place it in the same shopping center as Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop and near Francesca's Dessert Cafe on Ninth Street.
Francesca's manager Chery Kinlaw said she welcomes the competition. "There's plenty of room in this town for whoever wants to do the work," she said.
Students were mixed on which shop they preferred. Although Tori Taylor, Trinity '01, said she preferred Francesca's, freshman Adam Hall said, "The cake from Mad Hatter's definitely tops the cake from Francesca's."
Ben and Jerry's manager Carrie Collins-Zande said the presence of Mad Hatter's will help her business by bringing more people to the complex.
She said the two shops are unlikely to compete since they offer different kinds of products.
Zilla agreed. "Ben and Jerry's is an ice cream shop while we're more of a bakery/coffee shop," he said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.