It's 3:30 a.m., and while many may be getting home from a late night out, Tina Echement is getting up. As the owner of Ultimate Pastry Shop in Sewickley, she is not afforded the luxury of sleeping in.

By the time she opens her doors at 5 a.m. she has a monumental amount of baking to do.

The regular breakfast crowd that comes in every day wouldn't be able to start their day without her fresh-baked scones, rugelach, muffins and specialty muffin tops. Who needs those boring bottoms anyway?

And after the breakfast pack is loaded up on caffeine and sugar and on its way, an endless stream of sweets lovers come in looking for the standard cookies, pies, cakes and brownies.

They also visit to see what new and different treats Echement has waiting for them.

"We don't have a regular schedule. We always try new things," Echement says. "It's a lot of work, sometimes 10 to 14 hours a day. But it's fun and there aren't many days I dread."

She doesn't even mind the early morning wake-up call. In fact, she likes that few other people are up that early, which means she can get to her shop in mere minutes from her Leetsdale home.

Echement first got bitten by the sweets bug in high school when she -- for a reason she doesn't quite remember - decided to take commercial baking classes. She says it was probably because her mother and grandmother both baked.

She started working at Ultimate Pastry Shop 12 years ago for the previous owner. As an employee, she was able to really develop her baking skills and also was encouraged to bring in new recipes and ideas to try.

Four years ago when the owner decided to retire, it was a natural move for Echement to take over and finally have her own shop. Yet she opted to keep the previous owner's Florida-esque pink flamingo theme saying they are cute and fun to have around.

Her kitchen is now baking up a mix of recipes from the previous owner as well as Echement's own recipes.

Some of the new recipes, such as the zucchini bread, banana bread and coffee cake, come from Echement's grandmother, who is still an avid baker. And so far, grandma has given everything her seal of approval.

Echement's husband, Bill, also plays a role in the sweet shop, only his job is to make what Echement calls the "real food."

Each day he prepares a variety of sandwiches, pasta salads and quiches, Now that fall is descending, he is beginning to develop his popular soup menu.

Having the real food items on hand helps people "justify" eating a sweet. Having a sandwich first somehow makes it OK to gorge on muffin tops and brownies, Echement says.

It also helps her and her employees when they are on sugar overload and need to eat something that is not a bakery item.

Some may think having an endless amount of sweet treats on hand would lead to being overweight. Yet Echement and her staff are slim.

She says there is no real secret to it, rather it just requires a little self control.

"We eat a lot, but we run a lot. So we work it off."

Ultimate Pastry Shop is at 445 Beaver St. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.