Dorazio Bakery Thrives in New Spot

The was jammed into a cozy building with about two parking spaces when it opened on South Main Street near the Monroe town line a year ago.

AnnMarie Dorazio had to bake their Italian cheese cakes, cookies and other goodies at the Waterview catering facility on Route 34, in Monroe, while her sister, JoJo, sold them at the shop.

A year later in late November, the sisters moved their bakery to a space in the new shopping center on South Main Street by Cold Spring Road, joining other businesses there, including recently opened Sweet Mango as well as Cork N Barrel liquor store and Pub 25 restaurant.

In addition to a large sales room with glass display cases, the bakery’s new space includes a lounge with sofas, chairs and tables where patrons can nibble pastries, sip coffee and trade stories. The store also has a large kitchen in the back where AnnMarie bakes, as well as a large parking lot outside.

JoJo and and AnnMarie said the response to their new space has been nearly overwhelming. A legion of new customers has joined a host of loyal ones from the old location to buy desserts for holiday parties and gifts, they said.

“It’s a challenge to keep up with the orders,” said AnnMarie, who had just taken a pair of eggplant parmesan stuffed breads out of the oven one recent day.

She then began frosting almond biscotti with dark chocolate.

“We are selling a lot of cookies for the holidays,” JoJo said.

On a recent day, back to back customers, one wanting 12 pounds of cookies and the other, 10 pounds, nearly emptied the cookie display case.

Since the bakery’s move to the new space, dinner entrees, such as spaghetti and clams or chicken Masala, have joined the sisters’ stuffed breads, cheese cakes, cookies and single serving desserts among the customer preferences.

Sally Socci, and her daughter, Jennifer, 4, of Newtown, came into the store Wednesday “to see what it was all about,” they said.

The two selected some desserts, including rice pudding, Italian cheese cake and chocolate pudding pie, to try.

“I’ll have 12 cannoli dibbed in chocolate,” said Tanner Tardie, of Newtown, a repeat customer. She said she needed the filled cookies for a family gathering.

Gail Verrilli, of Newtown, purchased two pounds of cookies and a half loaf of sausage stuffed bread, while declaring her “happiness” with the bakery and its products, a sentiment shared by other patrons.

“Their cheesecake is so delicious, so yummy,” Amy Shenasky, of Gilford, said, as she ordered one cheesecake with mixed berry and another with blueberry topping.

Shenasky said she learned about the bakery from Newtown friends.

The Dorazio sisters decided to create the bakery because they found “something missing” in this area after moving to Monroe from the Bronx in 2005.

JoJo said word of their proficiency in creating fine desserts recently reached the Food Netwook cable channel resulting in an opportunity to compete on its “Sweet Genius” dessert contest show for a $10,000 prize.

She said she and her sister will soon have a chance to audition to be participants on the show in which a “secret ingredient” is used. The contestants must incorporate the ingredient in a dessert they spontaneously create before a television audience. The baker judged most successful in doing that wins the prize.