Fah Bislow, owner of Smiley Sweet Cakes of Franklin, poses with 2025 Tournament of Treats bracket, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
FRANKLIN — Smiley Sweet Cakes of Franklin took the championship spot in the inaugural Tournament of Treats, hosted by Central Nebraska Today.com.
The Tournament of Treats featured 16 different central Nebraska, ice cream parlors, sweet shops and bakeries that had been nominated by area residents through a vote.
A bracket was set up and those businesses with the higher number of votes moved ahead. Smiley Sweet Cakes, The Pastry Case Mobile Bakery in Hastings, Michelle’s Scrumptious Bakery of Juniata and Sweet Treat of Sutton all made it to the semi-finals of the Tournament of Treats.
In the end, Smiley Sweet Cakes took the championship spot by a thin margin over The Pastry Case Mobile Bakery.
During the tournament, Smiley Sweet Cakes faced off against The Danish Bakery of Dannebrog, Special Scoops of Hastings and Michelle’s Scrumptious Bakery of Juniata.
Fah Bislow, a Thailand native, is the owner of Smiley Sweet Cakes and noted that she got her start by baking for friends and family. Soon, word of mouth news circulated the small community about Bislow’s baking.
Eventually, she got requests from others in and around the community to bake or cater for events. Bislow said she started with cakes and decorated sugar cookies.
Smiley Sweet Cakes is 610 15th Ave. in Franklin. The store is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., on Fridays from 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Bislow said she purchased the building and began renovating it just before the COVID-19 pandemic and noted this was her fourth year in the building.
In addition to cakes and cookies, Smiley Sweet Cakes offers breakfast options such as breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls and a number of drinks such as espressos and lattes.
Bislow also said Smiley Sweet Cakes hosts a “Thai Friday of the Month” during which she prepares different Thai dishes. She also noted that the elephant in their logo is a nod to her Thai heritage.
It was amid the Tournament of Treats that Bislow learned that Smiley Sweet Cakes had been nominated by a customer who told her they heard about the location on the radio. The progress of the tournament was being highlighted on NRG Media stations in central Nebraska.
Customers were encouraging others to vote for Smiley Sweet Cakes and many kept up on the progress of the tournament. She noted that her customers enjoyed hearing about the progress on the radio and that their local business was being featured.
When asked about being nominated and winning the top spot in the tournament, Bislow said she was “humbled” by the support and said that her small-town community in Franklin feels like a big family, noting that they support each other.
Bislow made a point to thank all who had voted for Smiley Sweet Cakes during the Tournament of Treats and noted the small communities truly band together and root for each other during their successes.
The full inaugural Tournament of Treats bracket can be found here: www.centralnebraskatoday.com/tournament-of-treats/#/bracket?round=4