By Daniel Ritz
David and Diane Richey, along with son Jordan Richey, are licking the sweet taste of success off their fingers.
The family is celebrating the 20th anniversary of What a Dish and It’s All About the Cake. The two businesses have successfully ran as conjoined and complimentary bakery services, housed in their contemporary Dana Point Harbor location since 2001.
According to Jordan Richey, the original business, It’s All About the Cake began in Ocean Ranch a few years before their current location opened and is a full service premier quality catering service. What a Dish has quickly become a location visited by locals and tourists alike, many visiting multiple times a week. On a daily basis, they serve delicacies and specialties such as bottomless mimosas and artisan dishes others may reserve for special occasions.
This attention to quality on a regular basis resonates within the entirety of the Richey family.
“We have people that come here multiple times a week, and we count on them, and we count on them to be here, just to say hi,” Richey reflected.
“Being a Dana Hills graduate, growing up in and with this community, it’s amazing to hear and see people that I have grown up with to see us evolve. It’s beautiful to now serve their kids weddings and graduations,” Jordan said.
Jordan sourced a lot of their businesses longevity and success to their family employee atmosphere.
“A happy chef is good food,” Jordan said. “I really think that. When you feel it, it shows in the food.”
Jordan said that the Richey family holds an unadulterated passion for food, creativity and creating community throughout their dynasty.
“We’ve done amazing things,” Jordan said, “but what we do, you won’t find in a corporation.
Jordan and Diane each independently voiced the pride they hold in their long-time employees, and voiced that without them none of their success would be possible.
“Nice guys don’t always finish first, sometimes they finish last. That might be a saying, and people can feel how they want about it, but we’re going to sail that ship. We are going to a happy place that sells memories, and you can’t sell memories if you don’t feel it yourself,” Jordan said.
The Richey family said they are anticipating their continued involvement and are excited for new opportunities including changes to their brick and mortar location as well as new opportunities for Diane’s creative endeavors.
“Thank you for the support Dana Point,” Jordan said, visibly and audibly choking back emotion. “We have persevered through an economic crisis, construction, a lot, but all of our belief in what we stand for is reinforced by our customers and it simply says, ‘thank you for providing a place for us to remind us we are home.’”
What a Dish and It’s All About the Cakes are located at 24921 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Suite B100. They are open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more about their respective offerings by visiting www.itsallaboutthecake.com and www.whatadishoc.com.
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