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Monday Motivation with Georgina’s Bakery Cafe

Hard work paid off for the owner of this new bakery.

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We all need some Monday Motivation to kick-start our week. Luckily, Rockaway residents are surrounded by hard-working local business owners who are a source of inspiration to get up and seize the day.

This week, The Wave chatted to Charlie D’Ancano of Georgina’s Bakery Cafe, a brand new store he opened on Beach 116th Street with business partner Frankie Fodera. Georgina’s soft opening took place on Thursday July 4, where locals were treated to pastries and patriotism, starting from 7 a.m.

Charlie said they’ve been inundated with customers and friendly faces welcoming the arrival of a new business since the bakery opened on the Fourth of July; the rapid opening was well worth it.

“I wanted to be open for the holiday and service the community for the summertime when there would be beach traffic,” Charlie said. “That was the [Monday] motivation to try to get it done. We literally got this place done in three weeks. Me and my guys were just working day and night trying to get it ready.”

“Even into the rest of the week, it was just great,” he added. “We were supposed to close at 8 p.m. we’ve been open until 10 p.m. every night. People are coming, sitting down, having coffee and desserts. It was fabulous. It was some showing. The community really came out and we had a very nice reception.”

Charlie added that he didn’t mind staying open until 10 p.m. when “it’s making people happy.” Born and raised in Brooklyn, his family has been in the baking business for 60 years and run their own wholesale bakery in Brooklyn, where they “bake cookies and ship them all over the place.” Charlie moved to the Rockaway via Lido Beach while co-owner Frankie has lived here for 35 years.

But Charlie always had a soft spot for the peninsula and its close knit community, so this is really a dream come true: “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and Frankie lived here, so every time I would come and see [him] I always loved going to Beach 116th Street,” he explained. “I was by the ocean [in Lido Beach] so he told me about an apartment over here. I love the water so I looked at it. I knew the area, and I fell in love with it.”

Given his love of business, baking and the beach, there’s a little bit of excitement surrounding his new venture…

“Are you kiddin’ me? I’m very excited!” Charlie exclaimed when we inquired about how he was feeling, one week in. “My family is so excited, my friends, even the neighborhood is so excited about it. I can’t tell you how many people have come in and just welcomed me!”

The emphasis on family and community is evidenced by the name of this new business: Charlie decided to name his bakery after his one-year-old granddaughter, Georgina and works alongside his sister-in-law Josephine, who also has extensive experience in the restaurant industry. As well as being a family affair, the draw of this establishment is certainly the freshly made cakes and coffee. Charlie’s custom-blend iced coffee, made with a mixture of espresso coffee and a three-blend coffee bean is delicious; likewise, their variety of fresh bread on offer, including onion roll, eggplant roll, and bruschetta. 

Photo by ‎Nicole Layne‎ / Facebook

“We have a nice selection of bread, fresh-based every day, every morning delivered,” Charlie enthused. “That’s guaranteed: we don’t sell one-day [old] bread; we don’t do that… I call the baker up and they make it at 4 o’clock in the morning. They either deliver it or I’ll run and pick it up. It’s right there over the Marine Parkway in Brooklyn.”

But Georgina’s also has myriad treats for those of us with a sweet tooth, from cannolis made with fresh cream (“we make them fresh as they order them, we don’t stuff them or keep them in the showcase”to homemade cheesecake, Mudpie, chocolate mousse cake, pistachio, and spumoni, as well as a large selection of tartufo and gelato.

Despite his success so far, Charlie said it was challenging to “iron out all the kinks” in such a short time frame.

Photo by Charlie D’Ancano

“You always wonder if everything is [priced] too high or too low,” he explained. “And making sure that your service is right. This is our first retail store so just basically making sure everything was running well because this was like a mad dash in three weeks: construction, then the opening and we were very busy with deliveries, so that’s been the most challenging.”

However, he encouraged other prospective entrepreneurs to “come down, check out the neighborhood” and see what it has to offer business owners: “You’ll see that it’s a vibrant up and coming area. I still think it’s a great place to open up a business. Just follow through with it.”

So, if you’re in the mood for a sweet treat, head on over to Georgina’s Italian Bakery, located between the pizzeria and Paul’s Bike Shop on Beach 116th Street from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week

One response to “Monday Motivation with Georgina’s Bakery Cafe”

  1. danprecc@aol.com says:

    Congrats Georgina’s Bakery Cafe I wish you the best of luck!

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