Cult-favorite cake shop has opened in Tacoma with ever-changing monthly flavors
New on Tacoma’s waterfront: cake!
The Cat & Rabbitt, the top-tier cake shop from pastry chefs Terryn Abbitt and Julia Brown, has returned to Tacoma. Their slice shop opened May 3 at Museum of Glass, in partnership with the ambitious new deli, Sliced.
Now you can snag a slice of the cake shop’s rotating, in some cases always evolving, monthly flavors five days a week.
The owners first announced their Tacoma comeback in March, as chef Kyle Campisi was preparing to open his lunch destination in the museum’s cafe space. Sliced officially landed in April, serving up subs like a caramelized onion cheesesteak and honorable Italian alongside specials like a vegetarian focaccia sandwich with springtime asparagus, marinated maitakes, basil-brushed goat cheese and a puree of spring peas.
Logos for both Sliced and The Cat & Rabbitt have been affixed to the glass doors to the cafe space from the patio. You can also enter through the front doors of the museum, which is undergoing renovations to its gallery space. The acclaimed Hot Shop continues to welcome guest artists.
Abbitt and Brown had been seeking a new space in Tacoma since they left town in 2022. Their singular-focus bakery hit the scene as a walkup-only window amid the tragic chaos of 2020. Lines happened. Swooning, too. Occasional customers became regulars — even from dozens of miles away — and the duo needed a much bigger kitchen, which they built in downtown Puyallup.
That flagship bakery vastly expanded their production capabilities and offers on-site seating with Caffe d’Arte coffee. They’ve also accentuated the menu with other goodies, from scones to cookies, and can support whole-cake orders and — as seen with this satellite shop in Tacoma — other locations.
In a nod to their takeout roots on the Sixth Ave, the cake is always served in takeout boxes.
These $12 slices are sizable specimens with six layers each, and most among us would never finish one in a single setting, but you might be tempted! They freeze beautifully, and they’re also good cold (even though a cute pink sticker on the takeout box reminds you that “cold butter is lame” and you should “eat at room temp”).
Current flavors include a Cherry Chip Birthday with amaretto cherries and homemade sprinkles; a Hummingbird with banana, pineapple and pecans; a marionberry-grapefruit; and a vegan chocolate on chocolate. Abbitt and Brown have amassed a fan base for their creative combos and use of natural sweeteners (fresh juice soaks, for instance) that cushion a very moist crumb.
The Tacoma slice shop will carry the same monthly cakes as the Puyallup hub, so brace yourself for a fresh reason to visit time and again. Cinnamon rolls should arrive in a few weeks’ time, as the baking team in Puyallup settles into supporting two shops.
Settle into a seat in the bright cafe space or one of a few outdoor tables, or stroll to one of the benches that seem perpetually empty on the actually quite nice Thea Foss Waterway.
The Cat & Rabbitt / Sliced Tacoma
- 1901 Dock St., Tacoma, thecatandrabbitt.com, slicedsandwiches.com
- Wednesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Details: sandwiches, soup, salad and deli-style sides, plus cake by-the-slice (cinnamon rolls coming soon), inside museum cafe (admission not required)