“E
Manic Milkshakes are
offered in a variety of flavors
including Salted Caramel
Pretzel, S’more, Cotton
Candy, Birthday Cake,
Cookies ‘n Cream and more.
very day is a sweet day at Bella
Christie & Lil’ Z’s Sweet Boutique!”
say sisters Kristin Lewis-Smith
and Kadee Lewis. As one of Pittsburgh’s
treasured boutiques, Bella Christie & Lil’ Z’s
offers something unique and delectable that
will tantalize the taste buds of anyone whose
favorite part of a meal is dessert. This fall, the
booming business continues to cultivate its
second location in Lawrenceville with unique
interactive dessert offerings.
“We opened our second location several
years ago when the opportunity presented
itself,” recalls Lewis-Smith.
Dozen Bake Shoppe—which had been
open in that location for several years—was
closing its doors and looking for someone to
take over the existing lease. At the time, Bella
Christie’s business was growing rapidly and
the sisters found the Aspinwall shop bursting
at the seams, in need of space to expand.
“Instead of relocating to one larger
location, we decided to essentially split the
bakery into two,” explains Lewis-Smith.
“Our Aspinwall location continued to craft
our delicious dessert items and our cake
wizards continued to sculpt and design their
beautiful creations—only now they had
more room to do so. We moved our candy
making, chocolate dipping and decorated
cookie production to our new location in
Lawrenceville.”
Bella Christie’s was initially started by
Lewis-Smith about 12 years ago. At that
time, the home-based business was small
and specialized in decorated cookies and
bakery bars as well as cookies that produced
for private and wholesale clients. Growing
up, Lewis-Smith would spend countless
summers “down south” apprenticing with her
grandmother—a master “southern” baker
and candy maker. With her grandmother’s
influence, she fostered a love for baking and
candy making, and when her children were
very young, she decided
to delve into a business
of her own that quickly
became a success.
About four years
later, Lewis-Smith and
her sister, Kadee Lewis,
joined forces to expand
the business to create the
shop that exists today.
Lewis, a personal trainer and gym owner in
Aspinwall, pushed her sister to expand her
talents and encouraged her to tackle new
items like fondant and wedding cakes.
As the business took off, an actual
storefront, more space and a staff became a
reality for the Lewis sisters. “Kadee is really
creative when it comes to the design of
Sweet
Success!
Bella Christie & Lil’ Z’s Sweet
Boutique’s second location offers
interactive dessert stations that can
satisfy any type of sweet craving.
BY NICOLE TAFE
32 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Woodland Hills