Kent now has a homey place for people of all ages to congregate, sip coffee and eat goodies.

Alison Carchedi opened Sweet Themes in downtown Kent on June 20 with Head Chef Suzanne Schack and Assistant Chef Mary Watts. The women have already noticed their customers are adapting to the atmosphere.

“People come in and they aren’t on their cell phones ignoring each other or just passing through,” Carchedi said, smiling. “They are talking.”

The bakery features custom-made dessert and lunch food, including cookies, cakes, pies and quiches. The median price range for items is $5.

“We wanted this to be a place where people could congregate and just relax,” Schack said. “We have ceramic mugs and plates that match our décor to give the place a real home feeling.”

The bakery features coffee from Seattle’s Caffé Vita.

“It’s neat because there isn’t a Caffé Vita here in Kent,” Carchedi said. “But now we have one. This gives our bakery a city feeling, a bit of sophistication.”

The building is a part of a city unit and the women wanted to maintain the building’s historical integrity, so they kept the cement floors and brick walls.

“We painted bright colors and stenciled some designs so our place would always be warm and inviting,” Carchedi said.

There is no set menu at the bakery. Watts and Schack enjoy having the creativity to come up with new twists on items such as homemade breads and soups daily.

“I make fresh bread every morning, but it’s fun to change up the filling,” Watts said.

The women said they already have returning customers and people that call in for special orders.

“We have teenagers here because they love the desserts, people holding business meetings here and a mom’s group that meets here,” Watts said.

The bakery started as a small business in Carchedi’s home where she first started baking for neighbors and friends. As word spread, she began baking themed cookies and pastries for school events and fundraisers and grew to local and out-of-state customers.

“It all started from cookies,” Carchedi said. “I realized people liked it and I could really do something with it.”

Carchedi decided to create her own business. She was introduced to Watts through a friend and met Schack because she formally owned Something Delicious.

“These women have been so wonderful to work with and have around,” Carchedi said. “I can’t wait to think of new ideas and to continue to create items for the bakery.”

Sweet Themes, at 317 W. Meeker St., is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.