WARETOWN - Coming of age in the Hudson County town of West New York, Annmarie Cooney loved the festive atmosphere of family gatherings around food. And she recreated that experience with her 2012 launch of A Sweet Memory Cake Shoppe and Tea Room, a Waretown-based provider of gourmet cakes, cupcakes, scones, tea room fare and other delectable treats that encourage relaxation and hark back to simpler times.

“Being Italian and growing up in my grandmother’s house, I knew all about cooking and baking,” said Cooney, 55, a resident of the Forked River section of Lacey who moved her husband and young family to Ocean County in 1999 after her parents retired there. “I remember my grandmother Nancy having her lady friends over for tea and I wanted to create that same comfortable, relaxed opportunity when I opened my shop.”

Before pursuing that dream, however, “I was a kitchen designer, then stayed at home with my kids,” Cooney said. “But when my oldest daughter turned 8, she wanted a ‘Wonder Pets!’ cake for her birthday. I've always been artsy, so I made it."

Finding baking especially enjoyable, “I started baking cookies for people and eventually attended my first bridal show at Brookdale Community College as a vendor in 2009/2010 with a display of decorated sugar cookies to see where it took me,” she said. “People thought they were so cute and one lady asked me if I offered cakes. I didn’t at the time, but I told her that I could and soon started making cakes. As I did more bridal shows and my clientele grew, we built a commercial kitchen in our basement.”

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Though she jokes that “I always never plan anything,” Cooney’s dream of a brick-and-mortar bake shop soon took shape.

“I was still making baked goods from home when a cousin of mine called and invited me to join her family for a get-together,” she said. “On the way to meet them, I passed a space for rent in Forked River that was zoned for commercial use and had a fireplace, which I felt would help create the homey atmosphere I envisioned.”

Using a small inheritance left to her by her grandmother, Cooney opened A Sweet Memory Cake Shoppe there in November 2012 — but outgrew the space within a few years.

“I was running out of refrigeration space for cakes, had only 10 seats for parties, and needed more room,” she said.

In yet another unplanned development, “I passed my current space one day while delivering a wedding cake and saw a ‘for lease’ sign on the lawn,” she said. “It was an older home that had once housed a day care facility and then a consignment shop, but I knew that it would be a perfect, home-like place to welcome people for treats and tea. I worked with my husband to design the space and kitchen and bring all of the electrical, plumbing and construction up to code and opened A Sweet Memory Cake Shoppe and Tea Room in May 2017; we then began constructing our patio and tea garden, which opened in spring 2018.”

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Remembering the good old days

Today, “we’re known for our cupcakes and gourmet cakes, which include everything from a traditional cannoli cake to Oreo crunch, carrot, key lime, cherry limeade varieties and more,” Cooney said. “We offer 16 different types of fresh-baked cupcakes daily, including flavors like chocolate-covered banana, raspberry almond wedding cake, chocolate pistachio, sugar cookie, pumpkin cream cheese, cinnamon apple and other seasonal options, and we also offer 12 different varieties of scones.”

According to Cooney, cakes sell for an average price of $25 and serve eight to 10 people and cupcakes are $3.75 each, “though we regularly run specials and promotions for different holidays and customer appreciation events,” she said.

Beyond her own shop, “we also do a lot of custom baking for some of the Jersey Shore’s finest venues, including Hotel LBI in Ship Bottom, the Sea Shell Resort and Beach Club in Beach Haven and Kate & Ally’s Catering in Forked River,” she said.

Within the shop’s quaint tea room, which seats 48 indoors (as well as 10 on the porch and 30 in the tea garden) and offers lunch/brunch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, “we offer such tea sandwiches as goat cheese with pumpkin butter, roasted turkey and Swiss roll-ups with cranberry chutney, and ham, brie, and apple butter paninis as well as scones and salads,” said Cooney, who added that popular breakfast items on their menu include a French toast bake, Nanny’s Waffles with fresh fruit (a cherished family recipe), and breakfast burritos.

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“We also offer over 90 different types of tea, including flavored black, green, chai, ‘Autumn Leaves’ (a flavored black tea with hints of cinnamon, clove, and orange) and ‘Indian Summer’ (a fall blend of citrus fruits, cinnamon, and nutmeg),” she said. “Our ‘high tea’ lunch/brunch package includes a pot of tea, soup, salad, sandwiches, scones, and dessert for $32.95 per person and guests can also order from our à la carte menu.”

“We host a lot of bridal and baby showers and ladies club get-togethers, and, with our complete kids’ menu featuring 12 different kids’ sandwiches, we’re also the site of many children’s parties on the weekends,” Cooney said. In today’s fast-paced, highly-connected society, “we want kids to see the example of people practicing good manners and interacting with each other, not just with their phones. We’re a place where ladies come to relax, remember ‘the good old days,’ and catch up with friends and family.”

'Seeing the smile'

Among trends in the bakery arena, “gluten-free options are currently popular and we also get some vegan requests,” Cooney said. “People always love seasonal flavors, so pumpkin and apple are big right now, and I’m also seeing greater demand for taller cakes with a colorful drip on them and bright flowers.”

Supported by five full-time and four part-time team members, “I do whatever needs to be done — from working with customers and answering phones to decorating cakes, ordering ingredients, cleaning the kitchen, and completing office work — seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day,” Cooney said. “But it’s a labor of love and we enjoy meeting our customers and hearing their stories.”

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Looking ahead, “we’ll be decorated for the holidays and will be offering tons of decorated cakes — one that even looks like a candle for Christmas — as well as packages of mini desserts/decorative items to give as gifts at house or company parties,” Cooney said.

“Throughout the whole month of November, we’re celebrating ‘Friends Giving’ in our Tea Room, which will include a Paint & Sip Brunch on November 13th," she said. "While we’re normally only open until 4 p.m., we’ll be offering late nights until 9 p.m. on Thursdays in November and December by reservation for groups that want to get together, and we’ll also be offering a child-friendly breakfast with Santa on December 17th and 18th.”

For her part, “I love bringing happiness to people and seeing the smile on their face when they pick up their cake or we drop a cake off to them,” Cooney said. “It’s wonderful to be a sweet part of people’s lives and bring a little bit of joy.”

As for her business, which was inspired by her beloved grandmother, “I hope that people continue to meet with friends here and feel love and hope for the future,” Cooney said. “We’re a place where you can unplug, enjoy each other and be thankful.”

A Sweet Memory Cake Shoppe and Tea Room

Location: 521 Route 9, Waretown

Phone: 609-242-0153

Owner: Annmarie Cooney

Opened: 2012

Website: www.asweetmemory.net

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Sweet Memory Cake Shoppe: Grandmother's lessons built Waretown store