A local dessert company that had a long road getting their brick and mortar headquarters up and running saw their perseverance rewarded as they served their first sweets out of their renovated storefront over the weekend.
Way back in late 2018, we reported the impending arrival of #Baonanas at 181 Monticello Avenue. The homegrown dessert makers, who launched in 2015, had been operating in fairly nomadic fashion at markets and such before co-owners Trisha Villanueva and Lloyd Ortuoste found space they fell in love with on Jersey City’s west side.
“I was born and raised on West Side Avenue and currently live in Greenville, so we wanted to bring something unique to a wonderful neighborhood that was a bit closer to home,” Ortuoste told us at the time. The shop had hoped to be open last summer but ran into an unfortunate issue.
The owners of #Baonanas discovered right before Thanksgiving last year that the contractor they hired to construct their future headquarters defrauded them, absconding with their money and failing to complete the job. A Go Fund Me campaign raised over $11,000 to help the shop finish the work and their first true independent space is officially soft open.
#Baonanas, a play on bananas and the Chinese word for baby, sells banana pudding varieties like cream n’ cookies, French toast, matcha, s’mores, lychee, and Nutella walnut. They are currently offering a contactless pick-up experience for now and customers can also stop by and order in person.
The shop currently features a limited menu and are testing new concepts in the space, which continues the property’s sweet legacy. The century-old storefront served as a Breyers Ice Cream shop during the early 1900s and the old sign, now painted yellow to match the #Baonanas color scheme, still hangs out front.
The building that houses #Baonanas has some backyard space that might be utilized down the road as the environment around COVID-19 restrictions clarifies. But for now, they are open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
