The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Momma Root’s brings selfish delights
Momma Root’s Gourmet Bake Shop finds new home in town
A new bakery in Woodbridge that’s making mouths water has arrived with a sweet following from Milford.
WOODBRIDGE » A new bakery in town that’s making mouths water has arrived in town with a sweet following from Milford, where it formerly was located.
“Their flourless chocolate cake is out of this world,” said Bettie Torreso, who recently made the trip from Milford. “I’m following them. I feel like I’m going into a home, not a shop.”
Momma Root’s Gourmet Bake Shop, open here at 214 Amity Road for two weeks now, is also worth the trip from Milford for Maryann and Edward Lukaszewski and their son, Josh, 26. They even take orders from friends in Milford when they “make a run.”
“Everything’s all homemade,” Edward Lukaszewski said.
Maryann Lukaszewski said even though the cakes are beautifully and creatively decorated to order, it’s the inside — the taste — that’s “beyond words.”
“They’re part of our celebrations” at this point, she said of the bakery.
The bakery was started three years ago by Maggie Flay, who later wed Matt Root and got him involved in the business. She changed the name to Momma Root’s Gourmet Bake Shop about a year ago.
For the two years before that, the bakery, located at 400 Boston Post Road in The Colony Center, was called Selfish Delights.
The couple, who live in Ansonia, met years ago while she was in the corporate world importing chemicals and he was in the financial field.
Matt Root came on board without baking experience, but he’s artistic — so he channeled that to cake decorating with technical pointers from Maggie.
Maggie Root said business was good in Milford, but they wanted a location with more foot traffic and found it in the Woodbridge plaza on Amity Road where Subway is located. She also said Woodbridge was in need of a bakery.
Matt Root said owning a bakery gives “a little more freedom,” but is “a lot more work” than working for someone else in the corporate world.
Maggie Root feels more fulfilled by the bakery business than she did in the corporate world.
“I just love making people happy every day, whether it’s after a long day of work or for a special celebration,” she said. “I really put everything into what I’m doing. I want it to be amazing for everybody.”
They are in the spot that formerly housed Burnt Bakery and they’ve been so busy that some of Burnt’s decorations remain.
But the couple soon will put their own mark on the space by hanging photographs of their specialty cakes enhanced by Matt Root’s artistic talent. He’s done superheroes, college logos, flowers, characters, intricate designs and whatever else a customer wants.
“She gives me my material and I get to build and have fun,” Matt Root said. The cakes are all made
fresh to order, so there are no ready-made cakes in the bakery cases.
But they do have their specialty “OMG Cinnamon Bun” ready to go, along with pies, quiches and artisanal breads. They also make breakfast sandwiches to order.
Matt Root said they bring an old-fashioned approach to doing business, rather than making costeffectiveness the priority, and sometimes customers don’t expect it — like when he offers to carry an order to the car.
If a customer can’t agree on a cake type with someone else involved in an event, Maggie Root will create a combination cake — such as two layers of carrot cake with a cheesecake baked into the middle. She’s also made a cake that was half peanut butter mousse and half raspberry buttercream when two friends couldn’t agree, she said.
The bakery is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.