Uncle Joey's Rainbow Explosion Of Farmingdale: 'Good Things Coming'

FARMINGDALE, NY — Joe Veneroni began baking when he was 12. That was almost to be expected for the youngest child of six, who essentially grew up in a bakery in Westbury.

"My brother taught me pretty much everything I know," Veneroni, now 46, told Patch.

Veneroni was in the supermarket business before he lost his job in December 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

"While I was trying to figure out what my next move was going to be, I started doing cookies," Veneroni said.

With his baking experience, Veneroni's new passion took off. In January 2021, he opened up an LLC and got licensed and insured. His work started in food markets and a commercial kitchen. In October 2021, Veneroni took over the property at 451 Main St., Farmingdale, which he named Uncle Joey's Rainbow Explosion.

Veneroni is the uncle of nine nephews and two nieces.

"My two nieces used to always tell me, ‘Uncle Joey, your cookies are the best.’ That’s basically where it came from: my two nieces," Veneroni explained.

Veneroni offers retail and wholesale, though currently, his baked goods are only available to purchase online through email, Facebook or Instagram. That is expected to change soon. The merchant plans to open his shop to walk-ins around Labor Day in early September.

Through the end of July, Veneroni was using a commercial kitchen in Amityville. Now, all set to go, Veneroni has at last been baking out of his Farmingdale location.

Uncle Joey's Rainbow Explosion specializes in rainbow cookie products: rainbow cookie black and whites, rainbow cookies with cannoli cream, rainbow cookies with crumb, rainbow cookie cupcakes, rainbow cookie cakes, and more.

"As we get closer to our grand opening, we will incorporate some other items I’ve grown up making," said Veneroni, who has a whole recipe book full of confections. "Basically, it’s old school favorites with our rainbow twist on them."

He plans to do flash Friday sales where he will introduce a new item and keep it in the rotation if it's popular. There will be holiday-themed goods, like the Lucky Charms cakes and Guinness-infused cupcakes he offered for St. Patrick's Day.

Even when Veneroni opens the bakery for walk-ins, he plans to push pre-order sales. He's also plotting for pre-order only during the holidays.

"It’ll be too busy to weigh out cookies while there’s a line out the door," he said.

People will still be able to order items on the Uncle Joey's Facebook and Instagram accounts, and he plans to have a website up before the grand opening. His email is Rainbowexplosionandmore@gmail.com.

“We haven’t even scratched the surface," Veneroni said. "We have a couple of things lined up for TV and radio. A lot of good things are coming.”

Veneroni admitted his biggest challenge he's faced since opening up shop has been trying to avoid raising his prices.

"With this crazy world we live in, we’ve gotten hit with all kinds of increases on our end. But we’re staying true to our prices. We’re not going to raise our prices anytime soon. Everybody else is raising their prices. We’re going to try not to. I’ve got two kids and a wife to take care of. But as long as you stay humble; I’m not looking to be a millionaire. If it happens, it happens, great! Everybody wants to be a millionaire. I’m just looking to have a good life."

Uncle Joey's Rainbow Explosion also houses Side Hustle Artisanal Bread Company, a bread company owned by Jim Serpico.