Brian and Felicia Murrill, owners of Nothing Bundt Cakes in Spartanburg and Boiling Springs, have grown their business to two locations since opening their first bakery in 2022. Photo courtesy of Brian and Felicia Murrill.
You’ve seen Bundt Cakes for years – some with flavored frosting, some with fruit, some with light sugar sprinkling, and some just plain.
But when you come to the Nothing Bundt Cakes® bakery of Brian and Felicia Murrill in the Hillcrest Market Place on E. Main Street, you not only get it all, you get it from a husband-and-wife team who were recently named by OneSpartanburg, Inc., as the city’s minority-owned business of the year.
The honor came only four months after the Murrills were saluted this past May by PowerUp Spartanburg’s Small Business Week Proclamation & Recognition Ceremony – and less than four years after starting on only a hope and a shoestring.
“We opened our first bakery in December 2022 on East Main Street in Spartanburg,” Brian Murrill said. “I had owned independent businesses before, but we wanted something we could build together and eventually involve our children in.”
The venture came on the heels of a long pandemic in 2020-21, a time the Murrills used to figure out and discuss options, before settling on a Bundt franchise because of its proven business model, support system, and a focus around “doing that one thing really well.”
“A big part of our decision was talking directly to other franchise owners,” Brian said. “We wanted to hear from people who were actually running the bakeries, and they had really positive things to say about the brand. Those conversations helped us feel comfortable moving forward.”
Along the way, they discovered that Nothing Bundt Cakes®, founded in 1997 in Dallas Tex., is the nation’s largest specialty cake company, now with more than 840 franchised and corporate bakeries in 40-plus states and Canada, with plans to have 1,000 units by 2027.
Felicia Murrill pointed out that rather than build a business on only the here-and-now, a Bundt franchise promised to be around for the long-term.
“Everyone wasn’t familiar with the name yet,” she said. “So we felt there was room to grow with the brand.”
Even so, the effort took more than a year to get to the point of opening day, and despite all their preparation, there was no guarantee it would succeed...until they reached the end of day one.
“We just weren’t ready for the number of people who came out to support us,” Felicia said. “I think we sold out of cake every day for the first couple of weeks.”
Not surprising, since the Murrills bake and frost everything from scratch.
Bakers come in long before the shop opens to prepare the day’s goods in a large commercial mixer and oven.
“We use fresh products and prepare the cakes on-site – There’s a team in the back doing that work every day,” Felicia said. “We have about 16 employees right now, and that will easily grow close to 25 during our peak season.”
Not to mention that the Murrills opened their second bakery in Boiling Springs in April 2025 to meet the growing demand, and are planning a third location.
But more than just personal success, the Murrills represent a growing focus on both small and minority businesses that are being nurtured on several county fronts.
"The Murrills showcase the potential of local small businesses,” said Jay Jenkins, vice president of small business development with OneSpartanburg, Inc. “There are estimated to be 8,000 LLC registered small businesses in Spartanburg County, and 3,800 minority-owned LLC registered businesses. PowerUp Spartanburg, our county's small business development initiative, has made great progress in creating such an ecosystem."
Along the way, Brian and Felicia donate cakes to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen, help schools and organizations raise money through fundraisers, and work with the Spartanburg Regional Health System Hospital to give a portion of cake proceeds back to the SRHS Foundation.
“One program I really enjoy is Books for Bundts,” Felicia said. “Kids can read 400 minutes in a month and bring in their reading certificate for a free cake. Something that simple can give a child a little extra encouragement to read. Those are the kinds of things that make this business special to us.”
Not to mention trying out new ideas on patrons – such as apple pie cake, and other pop-up flavors to go along with the ever-popular red velvet, lemon, chocolate, and white chocolate raspberry.
“Pop-up flavors usually last about two weeks – (Our bakers) get pretty creative with those, and our customers are starting to really look forward to seeing what’s coming next,” Brian said. “And between schools, fundraisers, hospital sales and local events, our business now reaches well beyond the people who walk through the bakery doors.”
