AN ENTHUSIAST turned business owner hopes to become “the go to place” for all things baking in Andover.

Beverly Power celebrated the opening of a new and bigger Travelling Cupcake store, in High Street, on Saturday with a special event.

The mum opened the shop three months ago after taking over the running of Lucy’s Kitchen when owner Henri Brett decided to retire after nearly 32 years of trading, and she decided to incorporate both businesses into a one-stop shop for baking.

She said: “We used to do a lot of shopping in Lucy’s Kitchen and we started to develop a nice relationship, and Henri said he wanted to retire and I made the joke about buying the business and then we did.

“We just felt like we wanted to grow and we knew it was a great opportunity and it worked well with our current business.”

But it took around 18 months for a deal to finally be signed, and now she and her family are looking forward to serving baking novices and experts alike.

Beverly added: “We want to put our mark on the business, we want to be up and coming and more modern and get younger people to be interested in baking. Hobby bakers need advice and you can’t get that online.”

Beverly, who runs the business alongside family members and her husband, has planned to keep the original Travelling Cupcake shop in Bridge Street and the new town centre store.

She said: “We are going to need a lot of support if we are going to keep that shop open.”

On Saturday, then Test Valley mayor Councillor Carl Borg-Neal joined in the celebration by cutting the ribbon and enjoying a piece of cake.

And the store was even visited by former owner Henri.

Beverly said: “He is really happy with the store and has been lovely. People have been so kind and supportive and everyone is so happy that we haven’t closed.”

She got in to baking more than five years ago after her daughter was born and had a dairy allergy.