Business Q&A: Front Street Bakery

The Wohlfarth family knows pastry. Now in its third generation of ownership, is always trying to find a balance between consistency and innovation. In addition to their many cakes, cookies and pastries, the shop features an array of gift baskets. Currently, Front Street Bakery is offering a “Cupcake of the Week” promotion. They have also recently introduced French Macarons into their menu. Here, store manager and family member Lisa Acerno describes what it’s like to operate a family bake shop.   

What is your most popular item?

I would say the crumb cakes. They’re mostly crumb with a little bit of cake underneath. People come from all over for our crumb cakes.

What kind of specialty cakes do you make?

We make a seven-layer cake, which is pretty popular. We (also) make a terrific carrot cake and a raspberry chocolate mousse cake. We also do cookie platters and mini pastry platters. Something new that we’re making is cake balls, which are little balls (that) we make in red velvet, cheesecake and rainbow cookie. Right now, we’re doing a lot of 3D cakes because of the Cake Boss (television show). We have a lot of requests for those sort of cakes.

How long does it take to make a 3D cake?

They’re very time consuming. Some can take four to six hours. Sometimes we have to (make) them in stages. We prepare some stuff ahead of time. Some of the stars have to be made ahead of time using gum paste and they (have to) dry. We do some of the decoration stuff first and then, on the last day, put it all together.

What is your busiest time of year?

Christmas is probably the busiest time. We also are busy for Easter and St. Patrick’s Day, which is coming up. We make Irish soda bread, which is a big seller. We make a Bailey’s mousse cake, which is really good.

What do you like about the Rockville Centre area?

We’ve been here a long time. We get a lot of people who are taking the train in the morning. We know our customers. They come in and we know what they get in their coffee. We get some walk-in traffic, but not a whole lot. People come to us because we stand behind our stuff and it’s consistent. People come back because (our product) is good and fresh. (We use) recipes that have been handed down through the generations. We still use some of the original recipes. We also have a lot of new products, not just the same old stuff. We’re always looking for new ideas.