Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise expanding around Nashville

Nashville’s Nothing Bundt Cakes empire is expanding. With two new locations opening in Smyrna and Brentwood during the last quarter of 2023, the franchise expects a third to open in Antioch in the first quarter of 2024.

The Brentwood location makes a total of eight bakeries in eight years for owners Amy and Jay DeLuca, who say they are not done yet and have their sights set on at least three more potential locations.

Jay DeLuca said they are looking at Spring Hill, North Nashville and the Gulch as potential locations for more stores.

“As we've looked at our total market penetration, downtown is a natural fit for us. The new development that’s going on with North Nashville is a natural fit. And then looking on the peripheral of the greater Nashville area is the next step for us and actually just expanding out from there.”

The DeLucas originally started in 2015 and grew three locations in Ohio. They later acquired the Nashville White Bridge location along with one in Cool Springs and another in Murfreesboro in 2021 with the previous franchise owners looking to retire at the same time the DeLucas were looking to move south. There are other Tennessee Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise owners in Clarksville and Mount Juliet. But, the Nashville location was the first to open east of the Mississippi for the Dallas-based cake company.

“Jay and Amy DeLuca are dynamic leaders with a great vision for bringing joy to Music City through their Nothing Bundt Cakes bakeries,” Dolf Berle, CEO of Nothing Bundt Cakes, said in a release. “As a former resident of Nashville, I am rooting for the DeLucas and all the great people who work in their bakeries. It’s where I met my wife, and joy is something I have always associated with Nashville.”

The DeLucas employ about 120 people in their six locations between Ohio and Nashville. With the opening of Antioch still to come, along with the two other recent additions, the DeLucas expect to double that for a total of around 300 to 350 employees across the business. Jay DeLuca said they are adding units of leadership to their teams in management ranks and are adding area operators.

“As you see your organization grow, you get to see real growth with your team members,” he said. “Amy’s and my role is to provide support, remove barriers and bring joy to our team. That is the piece that really gets us excited, the ability to see the young people that we bring in to develop and grow and be able to provide for their families as well as be able to see themselves win through success.”

DeLuca added he feels like the franchise expansion is a reinvestment of the financial gains from the business directly back into the communities their bakeries serve.

“Amy and I know the recipe, no pun intended,” he said. “Because it's not just about making money. If that was the case, there's a number of different things that we could be doing. This is really about actually having community impact.”