PHOTOS: New Tower Frame Constructed on Cake Bake Shop at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

Shannen Ace

PHOTOS: New Tower Frame Constructed on Cake Bake Shop at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

Reconstruction has begun on the building for The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers. The building was once home to ESPN Club, and while the basic shape will remain the same, many of the walls and the tower were demolished for the re-theming.

Cake Bake Shop Construction

cake bake shop construction 3363

Crews have added new steel beams to the top of the building, creating a new tower.

cake bake shop construction 3364

There are several cherry-picker vehicles on site as crew members work on the tower.

cake bake shop construction 3365

The new tower has an updated shape and will have windows, according to concept art. It’s shorter, with a second smaller tower at its center.

cake bake shop construction 3366

There has been no clear work done on the walls where signs and paneling were torn down. Guests will enter the quick-service bakery through the right-hand entrance, which was previously the main entrance to ESPN Club.

cake bake shop construction 3367

The entrance to the Cake Bake Shop table-service restaurant will be at the front and center of the hexagonal structure.

cake bake shop construction 3368
cake bake shop construction 3369

The rooftop has rough edges where the original tower was torn away. Over the construction walls, we can also see that most of the exterior walls were knocked down, leaving just the supports.

cake bake shop construction 3370

The construction walls feature images of some of the desserts we may be able to try at the Cake Bake Shop once it opens.

cake bake shop construction 3371

For reference, below is what ESPN Club looked like early on in the demolition process.

espn club demo 1

The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers

cakebake shop concept art

The concept art above shows how the refurbished building will be covered in windows and lights. Planters will line an outdoor seating area. The color scheme seems to be white, pink, and gold.

permit for the “buildout of the Cake Bake Shop” was filed in March and contracts Johnson-Lancaster and Associates, Inc. The Clearwater-based company provides and installs food service equipment.

cakebakeshop

The Cake Bake Shop is set to open at Disney’s BoardWalk later this year, but two locations already exist at Broad Ripple Village in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Carmel City Center in Carmel, Indiana. The combination restaurants and bakeries are known for their lavish decor, artfully composed dishes, and afternoon tea experiences. Online ordering is also available.

Gwendolyn Rogers established the first Cake Bake Shop with a $300,000 loan and a dilapidated house. After two years of construction, the Cake Bake Shop opened with only two employees, including Rogers. She decorated the quaint house for the holidays and her baking was a huge success. She opened the second, larger location a few years later. A description of the Cake Bake Shop on its website reads:

When you arrive you walk through French doors, sparkling chandeliers over head, antiqued mirrors, French inspired furniture, beautiful seasonal decorations, gorgeous cakes on French porcelain platters topped with glass domes. Gwendolyn’s shops offer the most incredible experience from ‘The Best Quiche You Will Ever Have’ to homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, even a true French Croque Monsieur. Behind the kitchen window you can see the master bakers gently sieving non-bromated flours from Vermont, there are large pots of French & Belgian Chocolate melting on the stove, cakes baking in the ovens and decorators frosting the most exquisite cakes.

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn has been undergoing a long refurbishment that includes guest room interiors.

The resort is modeled after turn-of-the-century boardwalks in such coastal cities as Coney Island and Atlantic City and Disney has stated they intend to keep this theme throughout all of their refurbishment projects happening at BoardWalk.

The lobby of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn was remodeled earlier this year with minimal changes. In December 2022, the new Carousel Coffee shop and seating area opened, replacing Dundy’s Sundries, which closed permanently in October. Decorations continued to be added over the following weeks.

Trattoria al Forno and the Pizza Window at Disney’s BoardWalk will be closing for a short refurbishment in June.

These new additions will join the BoardWalk Deli, which opened in the summer of 2022.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.