Cedar Ridge Cafe and Bakery: A Patch Match Made in Maplewood

Customers of SOMA’s beloved Cupcake Corral—home to delicious baked goods from cupcakes to scones to cookies and more—might have noticed some changes brewing lately. It is all part of a new direction for the eatery, which is now officially called The Cedar Ridge Café & Bakery. 

“It was the direction I always wanted to go from the moment I envisioned opening The Cupcake Corral,” said owner Joe Ramaikas. “I just needed a partner in crime with savory food experience.” 

Ramaikas and his wife, Felice, have found that partner in Paul Holtzman, a professionally trained chef who has joined the couple to transform the café into a breakfast/lunch/brunch spot with a broader menu. 

And, Patch had something to do with bringing the three together. Last fall, the couple decided they wanted to expand but knew they needed help. Patch posted a letter they wrote to the SOMA community, seeking a chef and business partner.

Holtzman’s sister, a Maplewood resident, forwarded the letter to her brother, who was working as a mortgage broker in Phoenix, Arizona and was looking to make a mid-life career change. After many emails, phone conversations and a few face-to-face visits, Holtzman and Ramaikas decided to join forces.

“The rest is history,” Ramaikas said.

The café’s Country & Western décor will be tweaked to a more homey and comfortable vibe, said Ramaikas, but in a nod to the past, the restroom will be “a shrine of sorts to The Cupcake Cowboy,” said Ramaikas, referring to the cafe's logo of a cowboy lassoing a cupcake. They will also sell the great paintings of classic C&W stars by Steven Keene, which had decorated the walls.  

Ramaikas and Holtzman will trade in the café’s community tables for a dozen two-tops, allowing them to accommodate any size group.

The Cedar Ridge will offer breakfast, lunch and eventually brunch. Breakfast items will include frittatas, scones with flavored cream cheeses, homemade granola with fresh fruit, yogurt and local honey, egg “sconewiches,” and muesli cereal with fresh fruit.

For lunch, there will be salads (such as watermelon and goat cheese, seared ahi tuna nicoise, roasted beet salad), a wide variety of wraps and sconewiches including lemon tarragon chicken salad, steak and blue cheese, grilled cheese and a variety of seasonal soups including gazpacho and Bubbie KK's Matzoh Ball Soup. Weekend brunch will offer a combination of breakfast and lunch with some additional items such as Red Velvet Waffles, French Toast and more.

“I have always loved to cook for friends and family,” said Holtzman, who is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu. “I grew that passion into a small catering company.” Cedar Ridge will offer catering as well.

Oh, and about the name – it was chosen as an homage to the café’s nearest intersection of Ridgewood Road and Cedar Lane.

“One thing I've been asked about a lot is if we'll still have baked goods but, more specifically, cupcakes,” said Ramaikas. “The answer, of course, is 'yes'!  The same wide variety of freshly baked cookies, scones, muffins, cakes, biscotti and more will still be front and center every day.”

The Cedar Ridge Cafe and Bakery, 410 Ridgewood Rd.,  Maplewood, (973) 327-2286