O
f all the places to settle, the last one a
Marietta, Georgia police officer might
expect is a cupcake shop in Oxford.
That’s where Jason Green started his
Smallcakes Cupcakery in 2013, after leaving
behind more than a decade of service
in the Marietta Police Department and
coming back home to Calhoun County. In
his 14 years on the force as a patrolman,
he responded to every kind of call you can
imagine: some funny, some grim, some
gruesome. None involved cupcakes.
Now he’s a full-time co-owner of his
Smallcakes franchise, alongside his wife,
Jennifer. It’s a pleasant shop, filled with
the sweet scent of cake and icing, walls
a soft shade of pink bordered by dark
brown wood paneling, and pictures of
kids holding cupcakes, members of the
extended family who were happy to trade
poses for free goodies. A family friend
clued them into the business after opening
her own shop in Georgia, and after a little
research, the Greens decided it would be a
perfect business to move into, unexpected
as it may be. Baking is a far cry from
patrolling, even if the hours are longer.
“Marietta is probably the size of Anniston
and Oxford combined,” said Green.
“Whatever trouble you
wanted to find, you
could find it.”
Special training
allowed him to work as
a road tech, combing
crime scenes for clues.
Sometimes he’d find
personal effects left
behind by a suspect,
or biological evidence
(like blood or hair) and
occasionally, the Holy
Grail of Hollywood
policing: fingerprints.
“You watch ‘CSI’ and
somebody will throw
INSIGHT
April 2016 19