Dean’s Cake House has been making its signature “seven-layer” cakes for almost 15 years now, and Friday, the locally-owned business will thank its customers and employees for the sweet taste of success.

“It’s all about the employees and the customers,” owner Dean Jacobs said. “We wouldn’t be in business today if it wasn’t for them.”

The company will officially celebrate its 15th anniversary at its 402 Snowden Drive location Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but Jacobs said she would keep the celebration going as long as people keep coming. To show appreciation to its customers, Dean’s Cake House will have free food and refreshments available, including a sampling of the store’s signature cakes.

“We’re going to have a little bit of everything we make here,” Jacobs said. “We’ll be serving food all day. Some of my employees who previously retired will be coming back to visit. It will just be a fun day and I want everyone to come enjoy it.”

Jacobs began the business at the age of 60, after leaving her job as a grocery store deli manager. She began the venture with four employees and the store’s first location was on State Hwy. 55.

Fifteen years later, Dean’s Cake House has about 18 employees and produces more than 400 seven-layer cakes each day. The store has been at its Snowden Drive location for the last 11 years.

Jacobs said Dean’s Cake House is renowned for its seven-layer cakes, which come in a variety of flavors, with chocolate, caramel and lemon the most popular. The store also makes birthday cakes, wedding cakes, brownies, cookies and other sweet treats.

“We’ve gotten calls from people all over the Southeast and even further away, who might have heard from a friend about how good our cakes were,” she said. “I would say that’s our best advertising, is the positive word-of-mouth.”

The store and its wares have also been featured in a variety of state and regional media, including ALFA’s Neighbors magazine, The Northwest Florida Daily News and a June 27, 2001, article in The Birmingham News.

“Our phone was ringing off the hook the day after the article ran in the Birmingham paper,” Jacobs said. “That was huge for us.”

Jacobs said running the business has been a tremendous amount of fun, and she hopes to continue as long as she can.

“I’m not ready to retire anytime soon,” she laughed. “We hope to be here at least another 15 years. Someone else in the family might be running it by then, but you never know. I’ll keep working as long as I can.”

Dean’s Cake House can be reached at 334-222-0459 or by visiting its Web site at www.deanscakehouse.com.