The familiar smell of baking pasties will once again waft through the doors of 300 Main St., which was once the former location of Cupcake Emporium. 

Ali Cakes will open Thursday.

“The Cupcake Emporium was really a destination location, and I feel Ali Cakes will be too,” said Cindy Hicks, executive director of the Main Street Cultural District. “When you think of the Main Street [Cultural] District, we have great shops, great coffee, but one of the things that always came to people’s minds was the cupcake shop.”

The location of Cupcake Emporium, which closed Oct. 17, hadn’t even been vacant for a month when Ali Cakes decided to fill the void with a similar business.

Ali Cakes specializes in wedding cakes but also offers celebration cakes, cupcakes, bars and cookies.

“Before the old shop was closed, the new one was in the works,” Hicks said. “Businesses do really well in the Main Street area. That’s a really good location, and I expected it would be snapped up really quickly.”

Alison Kanealy, owner of Ali Cakes, has been decorating cakes for more than a decade and worked in Des Moines before moving to Ames.

“Finding something as lively as Des Moines, I didn’t think I’d be able to, but Ames really rivals it. There’s people walking by constantly,” Kanealy said.

Starting a cake decorating business and calling it “Ali Cakes” had been a dream of Kanealy’s since she was 6 years old.

“Not many people can say what they wanted to do when they were little is what they get to be, but I‘m one of the lucky ones,” Kanealy said.

She enjoys baking because of the nostalgia it brings. Kanealy learned how to bake with her mom and being in the kitchen acts as a reminder for her about those times.

“My mom’s here right now helping me get ready, so it’s just a family thing,” Kanealy said.