The Happy Cake Shop

The Happy Cake Shop is a Black-owned bakery at 3645 Saint Johns Avenue in Jacksonville, and the menu is refreshingly simple to describe: cake, done well, in a lot of flavors.

The lineup runs from the classics to the ones you did not expect. Red velvet, strawberry, chocolate, German chocolate, cheesecake, Boston cream, creme brûlée, triple chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, salted caramel and the shop's own Blk Tie. Seasonal flavors rotate through the year — key lime, pumpkin spice, banana pudding, strawberry shortcake, blueberry cheesecake, s'mores, orange creamsicle, butterbeer, snickerdoodle.

What makes the shop worth knowing about is the Little cakes. Most flavors come in a small size, which means you can pick up a single serving of birthday cake on a Tuesday without committing to a whole layer cake, or build a mixed box so nobody at the table has to agree on one flavor. There are Little Wedding and Little Tie versions too, which work nicely for showers and small celebrations.

The shop is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11am to 5pm, Friday from 11am to 8pm and Saturday from 11am to 5pm, closed Sunday and Monday. Online ordering and gift cards are available through