Welcome to Wonderland: Bakery brings whimsy to Downtown Summerlin

Step into Downtown Summerlin’s Wonderland Bakery, and you leave the real world behind. The floor sparkles with embedded fairy dust. A miniature train travels a looping track above. On the shelves are shining crowns for little princesses and wands for bestowing wishes.

“I knew I wanted the inside of the store to be whimsical and magical,” said Wonderland Bakery founder Allyson Ames, 28. “I always loved going to Disneyland when I was little, and my favorite movie was ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.’ So, I wanted it to be a blend of both.”

The bakery display at Wonderland, 2010 Festival Plaza, No. 150, takes center stage with iced cookies, macaroons, chocolate-dipped strawberries, cake pops and cakes. A chocolate fountain adds extra flavor to the experience. But Wonderland is more than just a bakery — it’s an experience. In the back room is the party room, decorated in pink and purple, complete with throne-shaped, purple padded backrests on the benches. There’s also a sprinkle bar where children can decorate their creations, with a countertop that appears to be an ice sheet, lit from underneath.

“When we first came here, my daughter thought it was magical,” said Heather Fife, who has a 2-year-old son and a daughter about to turn 8. “She loves the floors, all the pinks and purples. We’re having her birthday party here.”

Besides birthday parties, Wonderland Bakery hosts decorating classes and corporate events. One of the special touches it offers is printing one’s company logo on its cookies, called “sweet branding.” It is part of the 800-square-foot bakery section.

Ames, a native of Southern California, began baking at age 5. When she was 17, she was named the Best Young Chef of Orange County. She flew to New York City to win the International Culinary Institute’s Best Teen Chef in America title. Her winning entry was a four-course meal based on chicken lollipops.

“Of course I had to incorporate my love of baking in there,” she said. “It’s a special technique, a French one, where you turn the chicken into a lollipop at the end.”

Her prize was a full-ride scholarship to the International Culinary Institute of America. Once she graduated, she put her marketing plan into motion and set up Wonderland Bakery in Newport Beach, Calif. Other locations, such as at Disneyland during the summer tourist season, followed. Not one to rest on her baking finesse, Ames grew the business to sell merchandise, including aprons, tea sets and cake mixes. There also are themed cake plates.

“They’re great as gifts or if you want to give one to yourself,” said Ames’ mother, Sondra.

Later, Ames also won a 2007 contest on the TV show “The View,” beating out 99 other competing bakeries for America’s Best Gingerbread. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg was so impressed, she later had Wonderland Bakery fill her Christmas list, which included President Barack Obama. As a result, the White House ordered 8,000 cookies for Obama’s first presidential inaugural ball, something it repeated four years later.

The main focus of the business — 85 percent — is the bakery side, which includes the birthday parties and corporate accounts. However, the merchandising arm — including children’s items, home mixes and aprons — is gaining a stronger foothold. For 2015, the company is set to increase its merchandise list to 30 items.

The new Las Vegas-based Wonderland Bakery marks the start of a national expansion for Ames.

“For us, I don’t want Wonderland to be on every corner,” she said. “I want a few locations that are really special, flagship locations, so, like, you make a trip to Disneyland, you make a trip to Wonderland. … You can get a cookie or a cupcake at a lot of different locations, but I wanted you to have that whimsical, magical experience.”

Wonderland Bakery is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Birthday party packages start at $30 per guest. For more information, visit wonderlandbakery.com or call 702-363-3333.

Contact Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.