Wake N Bake Mixes Tans and Coffee In Unique Business

Tanning salons rarely draw television news crews, but Wake N Bake got its 15 minutes of fame when it opened on Emmaus Avenue two years ago. Salon owner Krysti Fasching had not yet graduated from , and at age 18, she was one of the youngest business owners in the Lehigh Valley.

Also newsworthy was the salon’s dual identity. Was it a tanning salon? Or a coffee shop? The concept had “never been invented before,” says Fasching.

Last year Wake N Bake moved to a larger location a few blocks away in the Giant shopping center in Allentown. “It’s not like your typical tanning salon,” Fasching explains. “It’s decorated to look like you stepped into a shop in Costa Rica,” with lots of handmade items for sale.

Imported from Costa Rica, these items include sterling silver jewelry, woven belts, purses, hats and headbands, and colorful hammocks. The décor includes lots of  wood rescued from old barns and metal trash cans that support tabletops and counters.

Then there’s the Costa Rican coffee. “Our coffee is made from really good, high-elevation coffee and we grind it fresh,” says Fasching.

The idea for the business began when Fasching and fellow seniors at Salisbury learned they’d need to complete a senior project to graduate. These projects typically give students a chance to explore careers. Someone who wants to become a teacher, for example, might shadow a real teacher for hours, with lots of opportunities to learn what the work entails.

“I wanted to take a different route,” says Fasching. “I wanted my senior project to be more realistic, and in the end it was almost like a guideline for opening a business.”

While considering a tanning salon, Fasching also thought of all the great coffee her parents were bringing home from Costa Rica, where they’d recently invested in real estate.

“I thought, what if I started a tanning place where I could sell coffee?” says Fasching. Her father, Bill Fasching, who owns Allen Supply Co. in Allentown, told her, “That’s a really good idea.”

“When I presented my high school graduation project I had the floor plan and the business license. I took all the money I was going to use for college and bought the building before I had a diploma,” she says.

“High school was the biggest struggle ever," she admits. “It was almost like I didn’t think I could do something. I can’t believe I graduated.”

The core of her business is four tanning booths (two horizontal and two vertical) for high intensity tanning in private rooms. Customized air brush tanning, for tans without exposure to UV light, and instant tanning also are available. “You can get sprayed and look like you just came back from Hawaii,” says Fasching.

Unusual in a spa-like setting, Wake N Bake has a feeling of relaxed familiarity. “This place is like home to me,” said Ian Smith of Catasauqua, coming in recently for the second time in one day.

He and friend Tiffany Surdak of Allentown also liked the price of a cup of coffee at Wake N Bake: half the price of a more famous coffee shop.

Fasching credits her staff, four Salisbury graduates, for adding to the attraction. “What people really like about this place are the people who work here. You can come in and sit down and we’ll talk about anything. It’s like walking into your friend’s house.”

Being a young business owner has its challenges, says Fasching.

“Sometimes I just want to be a 22-year-old and go out and have a good time. But I have to behave, go home and go to bed early. The peer pressure to go out and be a regular kid is hard.”

But she’s proud of opening a business and keeping it going through tough economic times, and is even considering opening a second location. “You can do anything if you just work hard at it,” she says.

Wake N Bake

3039 W. Emmaus Ave.

South Mountain Giant Shopping Center

Allentown, Pa.  18103

610-797-2050

Hours:  9 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sun.