Meet the Owner: Longtime Colleagues Take Over Local Bakery

Lori Riekert of New Hyde Park and Gianni Scafidi of Huntington worked together at a bakery in Syosset for seven years before they decided to become owners themselves. In September of 2012, they purchased Create-a-Cake in Port Jefferson Station.

"We’re very dedicated workers, and we felt like if we’re going to do that for someone else, then why not do it for ourselves," they said in an interview Wednesday.

Riekert, who said she has been working in bakeries since she was 16 years old, makes the cakes. "I love doing cakes, I love doing the fondant, making people happy," she said.

And Scafidi, who said he owned a bakery in Italy prior to coming to the U.S., does the other baking. "I make the cookies, the chocolate, the bread, the butter cream, the fudge, the custard cream, the cannoli cream," he said.

The pair said they have rejuvenated the bakery by doing lots of cleaning, making sure all their products are fresh, and staying on top of food trends such as fancy cupcakes and cake pops.

They estimate that they make about 50 cakes each day, as well as 80 pounds of cookie batter made three times per week. The bakery is 3,500 square feet and has two ovens and six walk-in refrigerator boxes.

Riekert and Scafidi said they hope to be able to open a second Create-a-Cake location in the future.

Nick Maccarrone, who owns Carnival next door to the bakery, described the bakery as "night-and-day between what it was before."

"My new neighbors are great," he said. "What they make, everything is out of this world."