108 BROOKLYN NEWS WWW.BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
Old Business, New Business
There are all kinds of businesses
that call Brooklyn home, from bookstores
and laundromats to restaurants
and shoe repair shops. These establishments
are an important part of our history
and shared social fabric, from the
barber where we got our first haircut to
the mom-and-pop coffee shop around
the corner. In Old Business, New Business,
Borough President Adams hopes
to highlight the rich tradition of local
entrepreneurship by taking a look at
two small businesses in the same industry
— one that has been around the
borough for a long time, and one that is
a newer player on the Brooklyn scene.
Here’s a look at a couple of the borough’s
bakeries — the 114-year-old Caputo’s
Bake Shop in Carroll Gardens and
the two-year-old Sophia & Grace Cookie
Company in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Caputo’s Bake
Shop
Caputo’s Bake Shop is a bread and
dessert bakery that has been in continuous
operation since 1904. James Caputo
now runs the bakery after the business
was handed to him by his father, John
Caputo. John’s grandfather came to the
United States from Italy and opened up
Borough President Adams enjoyed biscotti with John Caputo (left) and his son James (right) during a visit Caputo’s
Bake Shop in Carroll Gardens.
the bakery more than a century ago at its
first location on Hicks and Union streets
before the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
(BQE) was built over the road. Now in its
third location, Caputo’s Bake Shop bakes
nearly all of its products in the back of
the store. Its products include fennel and
raisin bread, Irish soda bread, jalapeño
cheddar bread, olive bread, onion bread,
and pretzel rolls, as well as different
kinds of donuts, cakes, pastries, and pies.
Address: 329 Court Street, Carroll
Gardens
Hours: Monday – Saturday, 6:00 AM
– 7:00 PM; Sunday, 6:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Sofia & Grace
Cookie Company
Sofia & Grace Cookie Company is
a vegan-friendly bakery opened by
Bushwick native Shalonda Vasquez in
2016. Shalonda started her business
after leaving her job in New York City
government to give something back to
her two-year-old twin daughters, Sofia
Photo Credit: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP’s Office
and Grace, who were both born prematurely
only a few days before Shalonda’s
grandmother passed away. Shalonda
always enjoyed baking and wanted to
pursue her passion directly, and this
pursuit gave her that opportunity. Sofia
& Grace Cookie Company has become
quite an institution in the neighborhood
with more than a dozen types of cookies
offered, including German chocolate,
peanut butter and jelly, pistachio, and
red velvet. In the future, Shalonda hopes
to keep the tradition alive by building a
franchise of Sofia & Grace Cookie Company
bakeries across Brooklyn.
Address: 163 Ralph Avenue, Bedford
Stuyvesant
Hours: Monday – Friday, 7:00 AM –
6:30 PM; Saturday, 8:00 AM – 6:30 PM;
Sunday, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Photo Credit: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP’s Office
Borough President Adams sampled a cookie at Sofia & Grace Cookie Company
in Bedford-Stuyvesant, alongside bakery owner Shalonda Vasquez (center),
some of her co-workers, and NYPD 81st Precinct Deputy Inspector Winston
Faison.
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