If quality of education is any predictor, David McMullen might sell plenty of cheesecakes. He set up his Luxury Sweets cheesecake shop in the Kenwood Towne Centre food court this month, and is waiting for people with the craving to discover him.

David McMullen and one of his cheesecakes

        A Detroit native, Mr. McMullen earned a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He worked for Corning Inc. as a business development manager for nearly 20 years before taking a severance package last December. That's when he decided to pursue a career in cheesecakes.

        Friends had been praising the cheesecakes he made at home for years, so he had been toying with the idea of opening a business for a while. After leaving Corning, he used the severance income and time off to develop a business plan and recipes for his cheesecakes. Then he found a company in Virginia to make the cakes according to his strict specifications.

        “As far as I know, no one else in a mall is selling just cheesecakes,” says Mr. McMullen, who mans the larger-than-a-kiosk stand with the help of friends.

        This is where his impressive education might come in handy. Mr. McMullen plans to start selling cheesecakes to restaurants and hopes to eventually open a mall location in or near Detroit.

        Mr. McMullen is a diabetic, so he is able only to nibble a little on his products (which explains how he can stay so thin standing so close to so many cheesecakes.) But he doesn't skimp on ingredients in his rich, dense cakes.

        The cheesecakes are available in six flavors — Key lime, strawberry swirl, cherry cordial, marble, turtle and chocolate caramel — and by the slice ($3.25-$4) and whole cakes ($32.50-$60). (If you have trouble deciding which to try, Key lime is Mr. McMullen's favorite.)

        Luxury Sweets is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.

Readers concoct their WORST CASES
More wacky Cincinnati scenarios
(Almost) everything can be frozen
Belgium's Trappist monks maintain fine ale tradition
Businessman smiles and says 'cheesecake'
KFC great American success story
Smart mouth
Spicy soup shows off bounty of fresh tomatoes
Trade Secrets
Oates puts out album without partner Hall
Body & mind
Caffeine in cosmetics? That's an eye-opener
Get to it