After “soft” launching on July 9, The Able Baker in South Orange made it official on July 29, with a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration.
The local bakery, owned and operated by Julie Pauly, is branching out to South Orange — more specifically, 209 Valley Street (at 4th) — after 15 years of success at its original Maplewood Avenue location.
The Able Baker opened its first storefront in Maplewood in October 2011 and expanded into the neighboring space in 2016. Now, both the Maplewood and South Orange locations will be serving cakes, breads, pies, Julie-O’s, poptarts, brownies, snickerdoodles, scones, creatively decorated cookies — plus coffee, coffee, coffee — to happy customers across the two towns. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
On hand for the celebration on July 29: Julie Pauly and her husband Thomas, South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum, South Orange Village Council members Summer Jones and Hannah Zollman, South Orange Downtown Executive Director Melissa Hodge, South Orange Downtown Events & Marketing Coordinator Lisa Szulewski, South Orange Village Administrator Julie Pauly, Village Clerk Ojetti Davis, and former Maplewood Mayor Frank McGehee, his wife Marie McGehee — and many, many more.
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The new location captures the 1940s vibe of the original Able Baker, complete with drop-leaf enamel-top kitchen tables, checkered flooring, kerchiefed staff, and counter glass from the original Town Hall Delicatessen on South Orange Avenue, courtesy of local handyman/legend Paul Lewis.
