More than two years after signing the lease, Able Baker is getting ready to open the doors to its second location — at 4th and Valley in South Orange — in late May or early June.
After proclaiming that she “Got the keys!” on the bakery’s Instagram last September, owner Julie Pauly now reports that all the mechanicals are ready for the custom cabinetry to be installed. “The plumbing and electrical is sealed in the walls. That was all approved. We passed all those inspections. So we have walls, we have two bathrooms. We have an office, we have a break room!”
The 3,500 sf South Orange location will be mostly working bakery (the Maplewood Village location is 1,200 sf total), with seating for 12 indoors — and lots of potential seating outside in the courtyard.
Pauly’s main concern right now is staffing up for the new location. Those interested in applying for full or part-time employment should contact [email protected] or visit order.theablebaker.com/apply-now.
The wildly popular bakery opened its first storefront in Maplewood Village in October 2011 and expanded into the neighboring space 2016. Coffee, cakes, pies, outrageously decorated cookies, and scones, scones, scones flowed from the space, as “Team Butter” became a retail anchor for the commercial district and a community center of sorts for everyone from the stroller set to the SOMA Fox Running Club.
In March 2024, Pauly announced plans to open a second location at the new 106-unit apartment building at 4th & Valley in South Orange. It’s taken a little longer to open than she had planned, but Pauly is dedicated to bringing the new location to life. “We have maximized our current space and we’ve been needing more for a long time,” said Pauly back in 2024.
Now Pauly is getting really excited about the new space as opening approaches, raving about the windows, the courtyard, the neighborhood, the proximity to South Orange Downtown and South Orange station. And she has very special cupcake signage planned — if she can get the approvals.
Stay tuned for more updates on the grand opening.
Read more about The Able Baker’s South Orange Planning Board approval here:
