What area needs a good bakery?!?

[ohmyganache]

Hello. My wife (chefjillm) and I are going to be moving back to Jersey to be closer to her family, and we are going to open a bakery. We need your help... What towns/cities/areas need a great, high-end bakery? We don't have our heart set on any specific location, anywhere from Philly to NYC.

Help us out!!!

Thanks in advance.

[Cook456]

Hello.  My wife (chefjillm) and I are going to be moving back to Jersey to be closer to her family, and we are going to open a bakery.  We need your help... What towns/cities/areas need a great, high-end bakery?  We don't have our heart set on any specific location, anywhere from Philly to NYC.

Help us out!!!

Thanks in advance.

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In the north jersey area:

Ridgewood, Montclair, Paramus could all use an upscale bakery..Montclair has Whole Foods, and Gina's..

[waves2ya]

Depends on how you define "bakery".

The Montclair vicinity could certainly use a patisserie; Patisserie St. Michel in the Fort Lee area is heavenly - but that's about it.

We've good bread, and a world of Italian baked goods. But croissant or mille fuille or quiche or even simple tarts - you'd make a fortune.

[AlisonA]

Hello.  My wife (chefjillm) and I are going to be moving back to Jersey to be closer to her family, and we are going to open a bakery.  We need your help... What towns/cities/areas need a great, high-end bakery?  We don't have our heart set on any specific location, anywhere from Philly to NYC.

Help us out!!!

Thanks in advance.

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Not sure I have any good suggestions for areas but I know you want to avoid Teaneck and the surrounds as there is a great bakery there already.

Patisserie St Michel

Best of Luck!

AlisonA

[Randi]

Edison, Woodbridge, Clark area. Ever since Edison's "Elite Sweets" went under (10+ yrs ago!) there is no bakery near me with heavenly cakes. I want real buttercream!

[Rosie]

Livingston

[Anonymouze]

I second Livingston (there used to be the livingston bakery on northfield but I'm not sure if they are still there... folks go to shoprite -ugh- now...)

But there seems to be no bakeries at all in the northeastern tip of NJ except for sugarflake and they do not have a huge selection. I'd say best bet would be Paramus or Ramsey area.

[nanyun]

morristown. (please?)

[Rebecca263]

Hi! Here in the Manalapan/Marlboro neighborhood there is nothing of note other than a couple of Italian bakeries of average quality. My daughter and I researched a genuine buttercream for her birthday last month and we never did find anything of a high quality. We ended up a few towns over at a place named Mendoker's, decent but not a real buttercream. Also, lots of waxy chocolate icings around here. Bet you could blow anyone around here out of the water if you put your muscle into it.

[Rosie]

The bakery in Livingston is gone. I think they were Glatt kosher.

[jeffreys1]

Freehold/Manalapan area has nothing in the way of a decent bakery. Or butcher for that matter but don't get me started.

[ohmyganache]

Wow! Thanks for all of the quick replies... this is great. Jill and I are leaving in a few months to travel Europe (stopping at every patisserie and boulangerie along the way), and we're going to be back in September of 2006. After that we'll start looking for investors and a spot, so if anyone knows of either...

[Cook456]

Hi! Here in the Manalapan/Marlboro neighborhood there is nothing of note other than a couple of Italian bakeries of average quality. My daughter and I researched a genuine buttercream for her birthday last month and we never did find anything of a high quality. We ended up a few towns over at a place named Mendoker's, decent but not a real buttercream. Also, lots of waxy chocolate icings around here. Bet you could blow anyone around here out of the water if you put your muscle into it.

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FYI

As I remember Delicious Orchards in Lincroft has real buttercream. Can taste the butter...

[Anonymouze]

Hi! Here in the Manalapan/Marlboro neighborhood there is nothing of note other than a couple of Italian bakeries of average quality. My daughter and I researched a genuine buttercream for her birthday last month and we never did find anything of a high quality. We ended up a few towns over at a place named Mendoker's, decent but not a real buttercream. Also, lots of waxy chocolate icings around here. Bet you could blow anyone around here out of the water if you put your muscle into it.

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Mendoker's is where we got our wedding cake... just a little useless trivia! LOL

[Rebecca263]

http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/34/34025.html AND http://www.visitmonmouth.com/econdev/video.asp

Here are two links you can start with for your research. I really believe that this area is ripe for the picking. There are a lot of people with good amounts of disposable income and there is no world class bakery offering nearby. I know a number of people who order cakes from NYC for occasions, what a shame that they have to go to such lengths to have something wonderful. Wherever you end up, we'll all be rooting for you!

[Curlz]

I'll add votes for both Livingston and Montclair...have friends in both towns, and while there is plenty of $$ to be spent, they all complain about not having a 'regular' bakery in the area!

If you want to research towns that do have decent bakeries, Hoboken, Lyndhurst, and parts of Newark (all in northeast NJ) come to mind. Of course, these are also towns that had large immigrant populations earlier in the century, and still have large populations of Italian, eastern European and Spanish/Portuguese/Brazilian folks living there.

[menton1]

The ultimate French bakery in New Jersey is Balthazar Bakery in Englewood. Awesome breads, and pastries to die for. It is also aesthetically beautiful, and the pastries are absolute works of art and perfect in every way. (No lopsided cakes, or messy icings here).

If you can emulate Balthazar in any way, you would be assured of success.

P.S. The Baker's Wife, in Tappan, has genuine Balthazar breads and pastries, but at prices 20% lower than if bought at Balthazar!!

Edited November 21, 2005 by menton1 (log)

[titmfatied]

My daughter and I researched a genuine buttercream for her birthday last month and we never did find anything of a high quality. We ended up a few towns over at a place named Mendoker's, decent but not a real buttercream.

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A liitle far for you but worth it I think for a good cake. Try Labon.com for real buttercream. I'm not too into their pastries but I really enjoy their cakes. They use all natural ingredients.

Directions: 5 minutes off the NJ Turnpike. Take NJ TPK Exit 10 into Rt. 287 North down 4 exits (about 1 mile) to Rt. 27 South (New Brunswick) exit. Go past next 3 lights (about 1 mile. Last light you will see the Pines Manor on your right). You will see the Plaza Diner on the left. They are imediately past the diner in the center of Nixon Plaza (a strip mall on the left). This is directly across the street from the Clarion Hotel.

For pastries I like a little Italian pasrty shop named Scalla on RT130. It's located in a strip mall in North Brunswick maybe 2 miles south of where 130 starts from Rt 1 south. It's on the left hand side at the intersection of Adams Rd.

I agree with the Freehold/Manalapan area as far as needing a bakery. At the intersection of Rt79 and Rt18 there might even be a property available that's worth checking out. It used to be a gourmet deli but went under a couple months ago. It should be big enough to turn into a bakery. Take 79 south from 18 and it's about 1/2 mile down the road on your left hand side. Haven't been down there in a while, so I'm not sure if it's still available.

Edited November 22, 2005 by titmfatied (log)

[Josefinajoisey]

Oakland, in northern Bergen County. Most of the population has to rely on a bagel shop, and ShopRite for their baked goods.

[sgschef]

Scotch Plains is very needy at the moment. MArgie's, which had been there for many years was closed-if you can make challah, along with fine cakes and pastries this area needs you desperately!!

[rozrapp]

I agree with the Freehold/Manalapan area as far as needing a bakery.  At the intersection of Rt79 and Rt18 there might even be a property available that's worth checking out.  It used to be a gourmet deli but went under a couple months ago.  It should be big enough to turn into a bakery.  Take 79 south from 18 and it's about 1/2 mile down the road on your left hand side.  Haven't been down there in a while, so I'm not sure if it's still available.

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I discovered the other day that Palma's, the bakery in the Town Pointe Centre, on Route 9, in Manalapan, has suddenly gone out of business. Too bad ohmyganache is not setting up shop right now because it's a ready-made location and much better than 79/18.

[gailtm]

I have lived in Livingston for 38 years. Unfortunately, no bakeries have survived in Livingston. With the "improvement" of Shoprite and King's bakeries and stores like Costco nearby, it has put the little guy out of business. Quality does not always win.

[phaelon56]

Rutherford could use one. There's only one bakery in the borough and they're "okay" for what they do but hardly high end. But I think it's a dicey proposition for a high end operation. You'd need to draw customers from surrounding areas to make your numbers. There are some decent restaurants in town that draw from many areas (I'm thinking specifically of Cafe Matisse) but I think many people want a place that's closer to where they do other regular shopping (e.g. groceries) so they can just pop into the bakery on the way home to grab something.

These folks have been in Rutherford for awhile (since about 2002 - a year before I moved back to NY state). But they're focused on cakes - mostly wedding cakes - not a patisserie.

Cake Crumbs

[birder53]

Here is my bid for the Martinsville/Bridgewater/Warren area. The Gaston Avenue Bakery in Somerville was pretty good but I haven't been there in quite a while. There's lots of money to spend up here in the hills of Somerset county. Something closer than Somerville or Wegman's would be a nice addition to the shops up this way.

[scarlet knight]

I hate to be negative, but I would focus on the economics of the bakery more than the location. Why are there so few bakeries? What are the characteristics of the ones that succeed? Do they have a niche (Kosher, ethnic, French)? Do they make enough money to warrant the horrible overnight hours when the baking takes place, along with the terrible retail hours? Finally, where can I locate so that I can succeed? Densely populated area or wealthy area? A place where many bakeries have failed before?We'd love a bakery in Livingston, but we've seen them fail and they fail faster than ever. Why would your bakery be different?

I don't want to be a Gloomy Gus, but we are so disappointed when our favorite restaurants fail and we know how depressed the owners and staffs must feel. Please make a detailed business plan and know why it will work. You can still fail, but do your homework before you spend money and effort.