72 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Whitestone bakery owners appear on
TV show ahead of business expansion
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Something sweet is stirring in
Whitestone.
Jen Wasiak, owner of Honey Bee Cakes
and Honey Pig Donuts, and Christine
Pignatello, co-owner of Honey Pig
Donuts, said their recent appearance on
Cooking Channel’s “Cake Hunters” was
“nerve-wracking.” But the duo are more
than ready to compete again.
“Th ey came, they set up lights — it was
a whole production,” Wasiak said. “We
did about four takes of everything.”
In the recently aired episode titled
“Four Cakes in One,” the Whitestone
shop went up against two other competitors
to design, bake and execute the perfect
cake to celebrate identical quadruplets’
27th birthday. Production for their
segment of the episode lasted about 12
hours.
Th ough the bakery did not come out on
top, the duo would jump at the opportunity
to give the competition another go.
“We were so afraid. But everything
came out great,” Pignatello said.
Nestled in Whitestone Village, Honey
Bee Cakes has been making specialty
cakes and other sweet treats for the
Queens community for about two and
a half years. On average, the bakery is
working on about 20 to 25 cakes per
week, Wasiak said, and customers can
order custom cakes for any occasion,
including birthdays, anniversaries, weddings,
bachelorette parties and sporting
events.
On Sept. 2 — mere days aft er Honey
Bee’s exciting Aug. 25 television debut —
Wasiak and Pignatello unveiled the bakery’s
expansion, Honey Pig Donuts. Aft er
hatching the idea last winter, the shop
underwent eight weeks of renovations to
prepare.
Customers can expect to fi nd an array
of doughnut fl avors, including s’mores,
caramel pretzel, fruity pebbles, rainbow
cookie, cinnamon sugar and maple
bacon. And, like much of the bakery’s
off erings, the selection will rotate, and
new doughnut fl avors will be added periodically.
Th e duo’s hard work has paid off :
according to their Facebook page, Honey
Pig completely sold out of doughnuts on
its opening day.
Wasiak and Pignatello attribute much
of their success to the Whitestone community’s
dedication to shopping local.
“I love the feel of the village, and I think
the village needed something like this,”
said Wasiak, who arrives at the bakery
at 2 a.m. every morning to begin working.
“I just saw so much potential here
… And the people here have been really
supportive.”
Th e co-owners want everyone to feel
at home in the newly renovated space,
which features furniture hand-built by
Wasiak, vintage-feel signage and, perhaps
most soul-stirring, the decadently sweet
smell of sugar in the air.
“People come in and say the shop feels
like home,” Wasiak said.
Th e Whitestone bakery is more than
just a place of business, they continued.
Th e professional partners and eastern
Queens residents met about fi ve years ago
when their children began playing on the
same local fl ag football team.
“We’ve become an instant family,” she
said. “It’s a friendship.”
On a near daily basis, customers can
walk in and purchase a selection of sweet
treats, including apple bars, cookies, muffi
ns, croissants and cupcakes. Coff ee, cappuccino,
hot chocolate and other drinks
are also on the menu, and patrons can
even pick up homemade dog treats to
bring to their furry best friends.
Th e shop’s appearance on the “Four
Cakes in One” episode is slated to air
again on Cooking Channel on Sept. 8 at
10:30 p.m., Sept. 9 at 2:30 a.m. and Sept.
29 at 4 p.m.
Honey Bee Cakes & Honey Pig Donuts
is located at 14-31 150th St. and is open
six days a week (closed Tuesdays). Hours
of operation begin at 7 a.m.
For more information, visit the honeybeecakes.
com, honeypigdonut.com or
search “Honey Bee Cakes” on Facebook.