Lemon Drop cupcake from SadieCakes Café.
Owner Cindy Lukenda wanted the interior of SadieCakes Café to be inviting and give off a feel-good vibe.
Inspired by her grandmother’s love of baking, Cindy Lukenda opens SadieCakes Café in Robbinsville
By Lisa Zola-DeLibero
They say you can’t buy happiness. But you can buy cupcakes, and that’s kind of the same thing.
At SadieCakes Café, happiness is all around, in the form of cupcakes and more. The aged cement walls resemble a place in Paris, but with a modern twist. The decorative sea glass is from Abaco, Bahamas. The atmosphere at the café is soothing and calming.
Owner Cindy Lukenda’s two-year vision came to fruition this past June. The grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony took place on Nov. 9, the day that Lukenda’s grandmom Sadie, the café’s namesake, would have been 107 years old.
“It’s home,” Lukenda said. “We want this to be everyone’s third spot, after their own home and place of employment. We want everyone to know the doors are always open.”
Lukenda is a lover of architecture and collector of Pez dispensers. She is a graduate of the University of Richmond, which she attended on a four-year field hockey scholarship, and began her career in the corporate world as senior operations manager for Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield. But that lifestyle was not what she wanted.
Lukenda wanted to do something much more creative with her life. Both her grandmother and her mother, Dolores, loved to cook and bake. So Lukenda quit her job, and enrolled in Mercer County Community College’s Hotel Restaurant and Management Program to get a degree in baking. The rest is history.
“My favorite movie is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” Lukenda said. “I wanted to have a place that had lots of great desserts, delicious roasted coffee, tasty salads, soups and sandwiches, with an inviting environment where people could come and feel good.”
Lukenda has traveled to many places around the world, and the solid wood tables in the café are imprinted with photos of her favorite spots, like the Bahamas, Paris and Australia. The theme often stokes conversation among customers, she said.
“We have lots of regular customers who come in, bring a bottle of wine and just sit, eat, converse and unwind after a day at work,” Lukenda said. She said Sadiecakes has also been hosting private parties on site, including birthday and anniversary parties.
The outdoor seating is homey. Indoors, the cozy, quaint eating area has two long, family-style tables, as well as the smaller dining tables for two, and French doors that lead to the cooking and baking area.
“We wanted transparency to the bakery, so that people can see what is going on in the kitchen,” Lukenda said. She added that she has future plans for baking classes and other fun ideas for customers, including live music at night.
Lukenda feels that the business wouldn’t be possible without the help of her staff. Two of the six bakers, whom Lukenda refers to as “phenomenal bright spots” in the café, are Mandy Bair and Stephanie Melendez, each graduates of the culinary program at MCCC.
Bair, who has been with Lukenda from the beginning of the dream to open the café, feels that Sadie’s has a team environment.
“I love it here,” she said. “Everything that is made here is fresh and delicious, especially the scones.”
Keeping with the family theme, Lukenda’s godson, Shane Lukenda, enjoys coming to work at a place that has a very friendly atmosphere.
“The customers are happy and always satisfied, “ Shane Lukenda said. “It is so nice to work with people you really like, especially in the summer when we get to work with a lot of our family.”
Also employed at the café are Victoria Bauer, Riley Frankin and Kelsey Wallace. Each of them feels like coming to Sadie’s is something they look forward to, and they really enjoy the chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate salted cookies and the red velvet cake. Also helping out at the Café is Lukenda’s good friend Gabbie Kalra, who spends time in the kitchen creating sandwiches and salads.
Open every day of the week except Mondays, SadieCakes Café menu includes Good Morning scones, biscuits, croissants, chocolate chip brioche, pecan sticky and honey buns, crumb cake, quiche, yogurt cups, breakfast sandwiches, turnovers, as well as lots of sweet treats that include a variety of specialty cupcakes and Lukenda’s favorite, gluten-free meringues.
There are a number of salads and savory sandwiches. Soups of the day, like crab and corn chowder, are a tasteful blend of ingredients intended to please soup lovers. And the beverages range from fresh brewed teas, café au lait, honest kid’s juice and a variety of other choices.
SadieCakes Café is located at 2346 Rt. 33, Suite 101 (Washington Town Center) in Robbinsville. Phone: (609) 228-3057. Web: sadiecakecupcakes.com
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