MANAYUNK

Elizabeth Paradiso’s love of baking started while baking during the holidays with her grandmother.  Her grandmother was also the one who helped and encouraged Liz to pursue baking as a profession by taking her to get her first job at a French bakery.  Liz worked as a cashier until the chef finally agreed to let her work in the kitchen saying “I’ll see you tomorrow at 4 AM.” Her first tasks included making blueberry muffins and “helping to roll all the croissants in a special room that was air-conditioned and temperature-controlled with big blocks of butter; I never realized that butter came in 50 pound boxes!”

After high school, Liz attended the Culinary Institute of America, where she earned her pastry degree, and then earned her hospitality degree at Johnson & Wales University.  After that she worked in “every type of food setting, upscale markets; I’ve worked in catering companies, bakeries, restaurants.”  Upon moving from Rhode Island, Liz and her husband, Owen, chose Manayunk as their new home and Liz started working at a bakery in the area.  After working there for many years, Liz says “I came to the point at which I had kind of reached the ceiling, the max potential of what I could do there.”  This realization was the start of Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes. 

 

In true Manayunk fashion, dogs and bikes were an important part of her decision process to open her own business.  During a walk with her dog, she saw the space which is now Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes and thought “In all the time I’ve lived here, there hasn’t been a place to get a birthday cake, or a specialty cake.”  From there, she asked people at the dog park and in the neighborhood whether they would have an interest in such a business and the overwhelming response was “yes.”  Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes started the weekend of the annual Manayunk Bike Race, during which they took their cupcakes along the route.  The race was clearly a success for both Manayunk and Sweet Elizabeth’s; that Monday morning they were met with a line of people waiting for them to open. 

 

So what is it like running a specialty cake bakery?  Liz told us, “It allows me to be a little more artistic; I get to work with paintbrushes now, which is fun. It’s like the celebratory end of pastry.”  And nothing is more celebratory than a wedding cake, Liz’s favorite cake to make.  “I love working with brides and grooms; that’s one of my favorite things.  It’s probably one of the most important cakes you’re ever going to buy in your life so it’s nice to make connections with the brides and grooms and then see their families grow from there on out.”  To help couples choose the perfect cake (or other delicious desserts), Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes schedules private tastings on Tuesday nights.  And after the wedding, Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes will still be there for anniversary cakes, baby shower cakes, birthday cakes, and surprise cupcakes (because who says it has to be a special occasion to have their delicious ‘Wicked’ Chocolate Cake).

 

Like all great businesses, Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without its amazing staff.  Liz employs two full-time bakers, one part-time baker and two part-time store employees who she calls “the lifeblood of Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes.”  Twice a year they have a meeting to brainstorm flavors for the next six months; then they figure out how to make those flavors into cupcakes and debut their new creations the first Wednesday of each month.  But baking skills aren’t the only thing Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes focuses on.  Liz says, “The biggest thing we stress is hospitality, you know a lot of people can make delicious cupcakes (not as delicious as ours) but making people leave here happier than they came in is the biggest mission we try to accomplish with every client that walks in the door.”

 

Liz doesn’t just work in Manayunk, she has also lived in the area for eight years; in fact, she says “I rarely leave Manayunk; if I do, it’s just to go food shopping.”  In those eight years, Liz has fully embraced Manayunk, “My favorite thing in Manayunk is the whole sense of community. I can walk down the street and know lots of people that stop and make conversation.”  She has also made sure that Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes fully participates in the Manayunk community.   From bringing leftovers to the local fire and police stations to participating in fundraisers, such as CHOP’s and North Light’s, to preparing desserts for local restaurants such as Taqueria Feliz and Beast and Ale, Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes has spread its delicious desserts all over the Northwest Philadelphia.  The bakery also accepts customer suggestions for new flavors; if your suggestion is chosen you can win six free cupcakes!  Although Liz says they have “more ideas than time” when asked what’s next for Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes, we can be confident that with their success so far and their growing wedding business, Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes will be present at Manayunk families’ special occasions for years to come!