'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro Closes Bakery

The 'Cake Boss' star's Santa Monica bakery is shifting to an online-only operation.

By Allison Schonter

It's the end of an era for the Cake Boss. Famed baker Buddy Valastro's bakery empire just got a little smaller after Carlo's Bake Shop, located on the iconic Santa Monica Promenade, permanently closed this week. It's not all bad news, though. While the brick-and-mortar operation has been shut down for good, TMZ reports the shop is transitioning to an online-only operation.

Those at Carlo's Bake Shop confirmed the closure of the outlet in a report published Monday morning, sharing that the Santa Monica location opted not to renew the lease. The decision seems to have been largely prompted by the fact that the bakery's foot traffic paled in comparison to its online orders. According to the outlet, in recent years, particularly at the bakery's California locations, Carlo's Bake Shop had fewer customers coming by the storefront and saw a significant increase in online sales, "even for folks requesting deliveries nearby." With fewer customers visiting the shop, the business decided a different approach was needed to meet customers' needs, with those connected to the bakery saying it is shifting "towards an e-commerce business strategy." 

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Valastro has not publicly commented on the report, in which TMZ said it appears employees at the bakery will lose their jobs. However, as the Santa Monica location closes, a new location is set to open. A brand new Carlo's Bake Shop is set to open its doors in New York City's Times Square later this month. Valastro is reportedly confident that the New York location will have plenty of foot traffic, as it is expected to attract both locals and tourists.

Commonly known as Carlo's Bakery, Carlo's Bake Shop was founded by Italian pastry chef Carlo Guastaferro in 1910, with Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro Sr., Valastro's father, purchasing the original Hoboken, New Jersey location in 1964. While the bakery has been a New Jersey staple for decades, it gained national attention when TLC debuted Cake Boss, a reality TV series centered around Valastro, a fourth-generation baker, and the bakery's staff, in April 2009. With the newfound fame, Carlo's Bake Shop began expanding, opening its first branch location, Cake Boss Cafe, at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in 2011. Along with the original New Jersey location, there are now Carlo's Bake Shops in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and California. An exact opening date for the Times Square location is unclear.

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