Breads & Beyond Bakery

The popularity of this bakery mystifies me. I’ve purchased or consumed bakery from here about four times in total. The very first time I had one of their Pączki which is a donut made for the beginning of the Lenten season. It was a while ago, but I do remember it was terrible so I never tried any of their baked goods again.
Fast forward a few years later. I wanted a coconut cake for my birthday so my mother-​in-​law bought one from Breads & Beyond. I have to say, it was delicious and loaded with coconut. The frosting did have the distinct taste of shortening but the white cake was fresh and moist. A few months later, I ordered a lamb cake for Easter and it was also good but the frosting had that greasy taste of shortening.
My most recent visit was just before Christmas, 2015 and I took my elderly mom there because she wanted to take something for a Christmas Eve party. I also was in the hunt for a nut roll. The owner (I think he was) came out to greet us so that was very nice and the woman behind the counter was friendly. My mom chose the adorable looking log cake and a small platter of cookies. She also bought an éclair and cream puff to enjoy at home. I passed on the nut roll because, frankly, it had a weird shape and did not look appetizing. When I took her home, she immediately cut the cream puff in half to share with me. IT WAS THE WORST cream puff I ever tasted and she agreed. The pastry was stale, the chocolate topping was so hard it cracked and the filling once again tasted of shortening. A cream puff is supposed to be filled with whipped cream. She ate some of the éclair the next day and stated it was just as bad and threw most of it away.
Now on to the Christmas cake and cookies. The cake was really cute but everyone agreed it was dry or stale. Microwaving a slice for a few seconds helped freshen the taste. The cookies were really bad, stale and tasteless. My sister and I wondered if there is a factory somewhere that makes thousands of these awful Christmas cookies and B&B Bakery buys them to resell. They don’t even have that homemade look. I was shocked to find a couple of misshapen and undecorated cookies hidden at the bottom of the pile. I think we will end up throwing most of them away because they just aren’t worth the calories.
All in all, until Breads & Beyond improves the freshness and quality of their products, I cannot recommend this establishment.

Breads & Beyond did a beautiful job on our wedding cake on May 24, 2015. We brought in a photo of a cake we saw at the bridal show and they replicated it perfectly. Bob the baker was great to work with and the cake was delicious. Our rating would have been 5 stars, except the cake was slightly crooked. Also, a couple of the women who work in the bakery could have been friendlier when I called and went into the store. All in all we had a great experience.

It’s clear the decent reviews were done by employees or owners of the bakery. I’m sure this place is great for a bagel or a muffin but as far as wedding cakes go, I’d stick with a real bakery. My friend ordered her wedding cake from here. It was a 2 tiered casada cake with strawberries on top and gracefully cascading down the side. What we received was completely different. She was charged an additional $ 30 for fresh strawberries, however everyone knows fresh strawberries don’t melt. When we picked the cake up the woman working there even said she had taken it out of the freezer a while ago which obviously gave it time to thaw. By the time we got the cake to the reception hall (a mere 20 minute drive) the strawberries were leaking red all over the cake, they were falling down the side. It was horrendous. Being the maid of honor I did what I could to salvage the cake, however it was still something that didn’t deserve display. It was embarrassing. When my friend confronted Bob the baker he simply said that the cake melted in the car. Melted in the car? Why in life would you ever freeze it knowing there were «fresh» strawberries on it? Obviously it’s summer but the cake was in front of the air conditioner the entire 20 minute drive. The strawberries were already falling off in the store when we picked it up. A simple refund, hell even a sliver of sympathy would have made this experience a little better. If you’re looking for anything past the simple giant eagle yellow sheet cake, I’d seek out real professionals.

VERY UNFRIENDLY WOMEN WORKING THERE
Nut Rolls and Poppy Seed Rolls — This place has very good nut rolls, poppy seed rolls and cream cheese pumpkin rolls.
The place is very small and they always seem to be out of many things.
THEY DON’T BAKE ENOUGH!
This bakery could easily be a 4 or 5 star place but not with unfriendly employees and scarce pastries.
So, until the owners can do something about the witches that work there, this place gets a 3 star review from me.
They are very pricey but are above average in quality.
Beware of the unfriendly women that work in this place.

I love this bakery! My family gets all of our cakes, cookies, dinner rolls, etc from B&B for holidays and special occasions. I won’t allow myself to go into the bakery very often simply because I would be eating way too much «bad» stuff.
My absolute favorite item is their large cranberry muffin. Other favorites include their pizza, their Christmas cookies, and their cakes. Last week, I took a white cake with white frosting into work for a birthday celebration and it was HUGE hit. Everyone loved it — especially the frosting. Someone said it tasted like homemade, someone else said the frosting was that perfect amount of sweet (not too much, not too little), and someone who never eats cake actually had a second piece.
Bob and Dante, the owners, and all of the ladies who work in the shop are always super friendly and helpful.
Next time you need a cake or bakery of any kind — head to Parma! You will not be disappointed.