Dixie Cream, a well-known destination for sweet treats in Bowling Green, isn’t just about doughnuts anymore, thanks to a change in ownership.

A walk into the location at 2505 Russellville Road, which reopened in February after closing for renovations, reveals a new layout, fresh paint and the addition of cakes, pies, brownies, coffee cake, chocolate and pumpkin logs, lemon and cheesecake squares, baklava, cherry and pecan tarts, cookies, wedding cakes, birthday cakes, bagels, muffins, various types of fresh breads, sandwiches and even egg rolls.

And by request, the sweet shop even offers sugar-free and fat free peach, apple and cherry pies, according to the shop’s bookkeeper and cake decorator, Synoon Rhodes, 26.

&#8220We had people come in and ask, and we thought we would try a couple of things and see how things went,” Rhodes said of the additional options.

The new owners of Dixie Cream are a family that came to Bowling Green 27 years ago from Cambodia, beginning with the father and man behind the new Spirit Bakery, Chok Soth.

Soth, 55, is the former owner of Sweetheart Bakery in Glasgow, and was a baker for Riley’s Bakery for more than 20 years.

The additions to the shop’s product mix has resulted in additional traffic, according to Rhodes.

&#8220Business has picked up a lot,” he said.

For those seeking lunch, Rhodes said the egg rolls, which are full of corn, carrots, peas, rice noodles and pork, are a popular favorite of the shop’s &#8220honorary boss,” Kim Luoy, 58.

Other operational changes

For those looking for a change in the doughnut selection at the facility, they won’t find one – Dixie Cream is retaining two of its veteran doughnut fryers, who have worked at the doughnut shop for decades.

Dixie Cream and Spirit Bakery is monitoring how much dough it produces, along with its inventory, on a weekly basis, and plans to alter its product line based on sales demand, according to the shop’s manager, Tom Suoy, 36.

Leftovers are donated to local charities – New Beginnings on Adams Street and the Salvation Army, Suoy said. After 4 p.m. on weekdays, all doughnuts are half price.

Currently, the doughnut shop/bakery’s goods are being tested at the Shell station on Lovers Lane, according to Suoy.

&#8220We try to cater to everybody as much as we can,” said Suoy, a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a minor in criminology and an associate’s degree in business.

Suoy gave up a job with the WKU Police Department to get into the family business.

&#8220Family has always been first, everyone else comes secondary,” Suoy said, holding his 10-month-old baby girl, Madison. His wife, Tishiba, along with her cousins, works in the store as well.

&#8220I was happy to be able to do it,” he said. &#8220It was a hard decision, but it was the right one for me.”

Dixie Cream Donuts and Spirit Bakery

Address: 2505 Russellville Road

Phone: 842-1205

Baker: Chok Soth

Drive-Through available