Sidcup couple open New Eltham ‘BusyBee cakes' shop

Anna Armstrong and her husband Steve decided to combine their talents of baking and commercial to open the new “BusyBee cakes” shop on Southwood Road.

After finishing her maternity leave, Anna decided to leave her city centre office job and turned her career to baking.

The couple, who live in Sidcup, explained that they had considered making these changes throughout lockdown and the business has allowed them to focus more on their children and home life.

Opening day at BusyBee cakes (Image: Steve A)

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Anna, 37, told the News Shopper: “I've loved baking ever since I've been old enough to stand on the chair to reach the countertop with my mum and my nan.

“I've kind of always been known in the family for doing cakes, desserts and stuff like that.

“Lockdown came and I was working from home doing my usual office job, and I found that I was doing more and more baking and then I got doing some big birthday cakes.

“Because I had more time on my hands, I was able to get really creative in the kitchen.

“Word of mouth spread, people ordering more and more cakes from me and we kind of had lift off.

“But it was getting to the point where my husband was working from home and he was coming into the kitchen to try and make sandwiches but he physically couldn’t even get into the kitchen.

“He said ‘This is ridiculous – you need your own kitchen’.”

Some of the sweet treats Anna had baked for friends, family and supporters on opening day (Image: STEVE A)

Steve, 40, who works as a project manager, explained: “The very first person who said to Anna that she should make a living off these cakes was actually my mum.

“She made scones for my mum, like for a cream tea which she absolutely loves, and she said ‘Anna, you need to open a shop because it will because people will love this’.”

Steve began searching for local premises which would be suitable for the business and helped Anna get started with the logistics.

The shop hosted an opening day celebration on September 1, where the Eltham MP Clive Efford came to cut the ribbon and have a taste of Anna’s baking.

Eltham MP Clive Efford came to cut the ribbon (Image: Steve A)

The opening day was mainly for friends, family and the builders who helped get the unit ready for shop use.

Anna put on a range of different sweet treats to say thank you to the people that helped them get the business up and running.

Steve explained that around 50 people attended, including passers-by who stopped to see what was going on.

The shop opened fully to the public the following day, and Anna said she has been baking nonstop ever since.

Anna added: “I'm just really incredibly busy, which I'm so grateful for because it wasn't something that I expected.

“It was just such a busy day when we first opened to the public and we had so many people popping in.

“The shop is so bright and colourful- it is nice to have a bit of bright colour in the area."

“Then on Sunday evening, my husband said to me, how do you feel about going to work tomorrow? - and I was like, I'm really looking forward to it... I'm actually really excited about it.

BusyBee cakes -Southwood Road, New Eltham (Image: STEVE)

Steve said: “We want the shop to be an experience for the children more than anything.

“From a young age I can remember when you went to like a toy shop or an ice cream parlour, you would get really excited.

“Anna is very modest, you know, she'll make a cake and she will say ‘I don't know if I've done it right’, and so on, and it looks amazing.

“As a husband, it is my job to be behind her and say ‘you can do this’.

“Anna does make a fantastic cake.”

You can find out more about BusyBee cakes here.

An example of one of Anna's drip cakes (Image: Busybees)

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