Dad, Inspired By Daughter, Opens 2nd Bakery:'She's My Right Hand'

NORTH BABYLON, NY — A tasty new bakery is coming to North Babylon.

Made By Lili’s, located at 11-58 Deer Park Avenue, will open its second location on Valentine’s Day.

Owner Tarek Farouk, a Deer Park resident, told Patch he is excited to bring his business to the place where his roots run deep.

“I belong here,” he said. “That’s my community. That's my hometown.”

Tarek told Patch that his passion for baking first began when his daughter, Layan, only four years old at the time, expressed an interest in baking

“We used to bake every Sunday night as a family tradition,” Tarek said. “Then we started developing new recipes, new items and stuff like that.”

Tarek said that he loved baking so much that he eventually sold his limo business in 2015 to open his first bakery in Times Square in 201. He named it ‘Made By Lili’s’, in honor of his daughter.

“I was inspired by all this baking that we did together,” said Tarek. “And it was actually a great start.”

For its first four years, Made By Lili’s was successful, specializing in cheesecakes, cupcakes, cannolis and cookies.

When the pandemic hit, Tarek said that, as did so many others, his business suffered greatly.

“It seriously felt like someone flipped the switch,” Tarek said. “Like someone disconnected my store from the outside. We went from making $10 to making 50 cents a day.”

Although it was a blow when the Times Square location was damaged in October, 2020, the bright side was that he had to close for more than one month, giving him time to refocus.

To survive the lack of physical customers, Tarek was forced to pivot; he said he depended on online delivery orders. He also created a new menu item, the ‘cheesecake on a stick.’

“Basically you take a frozen cheesecake wedge and you dip it in chocolate,” he said. “Then you dress it up with s’mores, Nutella, Oreo, peanut butter, stuff like that.”

This item became so popular in 2021 that the demand was a challenge to meet. Tarek told Patch that at one point the store was making almost 840 cheesecake sticks a day, in a 500-square-foot store.

In the North Babylon location, he’ll be able to create even more menu items, including a customizable edible cookie dough. His must-try item, he said, is ‘Lili’s Cheesecake’: a layer of cheesecake, a layer of chocolate chip brownie, and a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough.

“Literally, we can’t keep them stored because that's how well it sells,” he said.

As a Deer Park resident, Tarek said he wanted to extend his business into Long Island after noticing a lack of bakeries.

“Living in Long Island, and especially when we had the lockdown, if I want to order dessert, there is no place around,” he said.

Tarek told Patch that he intends to open a new store every year on Long Island.

Layan, he said, is happy to be baking alongside her dad in her hometown.

“She is my right hand,” he said. “In the summertime she comes with me five days a week. And she's the one who's going to run the business long after I’m gone.”

Made By Lili's is currently hiring for its second location for the positions of store manager, baker (experience preferred), counter staff and delivery staff. To apply for a position, email: madebylilis@gmail.com.