Photos courtesy of Baked By Susan
Baked by Susan is one of Westchester’s most prolific local bakeries. So prolific, in fact, that the much-loved shop is moving just a few blocks to a brand-new Croton-on-Hudson address with a Grand Opening scheduled for noon on Saturday, March 7.
The new location is double the size of the old one, making room for even more sweet treats. We spoke to owner Susan O’Keefe about the expansion and how she’s spreading her love through baked goods in Croton.
When did you first start feeling like it was time to expand into a larger location?
We realized a few years ago that we needed more space for production, as well as more basement storage. Also, our customers wanted the option to sit and stay to enjoy their treats.; our new space has indoor seating for 28 and we will have outdoor seating in the nicer weather, as well.
Did you struggle to choose where to open a new storefront, or did the Croton real estate become available and you just decided to snatch it up?
We looked for years for a space to move into. When the space at 379 South Riverside became available, we knew it was the right space for our expansion. The building is beautiful and has amazing, big windows with lots of natural light. We are on a busy corner so that will help with our traffic as well.
What are you planning with the increased square footage?
The larger space allowed us the opportunity to expand our front seating area. We will now be open seven days a week, and during the week we will be open from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for commuters to stop by for a quick grab-and-go breakfast or for take-out dinner items such as our empanadas, savory galettes, quiche, and pot pies. We also have much more space to do our baking and production.
We hear the ribbon cutting on Saturday, March 7 will feature the mayor and chamber of commerce. Anything else you can tease?
The Bennett Conservatory of Music will have their student string quartet. Croton Music Academy’s kid band, The Hudson Mutants, will be playing, and local band; Plasm will play live as well. (My son, Hudson, is the drummer for that band.) The mini cupcake bar will allow kids and adults to decorate their own mini cupcake. We will have lots of goodies for tasting all day long. We will have some of our new items as well, including the soon-to-be-famous BEC and Egganada (breakfast empanadas with and without bacon).
Our neighbor, Salon M, will be here with a couple of baskets that we will raffle off. We will also have Westchester Balloon Company here making balloons all afternoon and we will have a giant cupcake balloon for Instagram photos made by Westchester Balloon Company as well!