Brooklyn cake shop is pandemic success story

NEW YORK - BCakeNY, a specialty cake shop in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, was thriving and a fan favorite among celebrities before the pandemic.

From JLo to Kelly Rippa to 50 Cent, the list goes on. But the force behind the creative cakes, Miriam Milord and Dara Roach, wondered how they’d stay afloat when COVID-19 hit.

"It was terrifying, this is a business where everything we do is for big events, at restaurants, so we spent two or three days just taking cancellations, people wanting their money back," said Roach, BCakeNY’s CEO.

So the duo found a way to make a comeback.

"We decided to pivot to small cakes that could be delivered to your home during the lockdown," said Milord, BCakeNY’s founder.  "So we hired delivery drivers, we switched to an e-commerce platform where people wouldn’t have to come in to place the order."

The new business model has been such a success, they just started renting another storefront two doors down to expand the business, which is now bigger than ever.

Kianni Moses came from Long Island to choose a cake for her upcoming baby shower.

"I’ve seen a lot of people post getting cakes from here, stars, and I just figured I would try it, it’s black-owned," said Moses.

"We built our whole space, the electrician, the construction person, the designer, all of them were people of color so when you are supporting a black-owned business you’re supporting many business owners and that was really important to us to be a good representation to our community," said Roach.

In addition to their thriving business, Milord and Roach also started an internship program for kids and young adults to learn about the business and get some real life work experience — a way for them to pay it forward in the community.