When you first meet baker Domenick Costanzo, it’s clear that his business is a labor of love. It’s also hard not to want a little bit of everything when facing a vintage case filled with pies, iced cakes, and cannoli made from scratch, and covered trays on the Formica counter piled high with Danish and turnovers with every fruity filling you could imagine.
There seems to always be a buzz in the air at this former diner and it’s likely emanating from the group of older gentlemen gathered at a table up front who come in almost daily to debate the issues of the day over $1 cups of coffee.
“I make them a pot of coffee and they sit and solve the world’s problems,” says Costanzo, 70. Unlike most business owners, he genuinely doesn’t mind if you just want to hang out, breathing in the delicious aroma of cookies warming on a rack, without buying anything.
“Anyone can come here and just sit in a booth and talk,” he says of the bakery that has added something sweet to Coxsackie for 11 years. “People love this place.” Maybe it’s the old-school vibe, or because Costanzo eschews fancy branding and social media in exchange for kindness.
For the past nine years he and his wife, Jill, have cooked and served a free Christmas dinner in the bakery—and everyone in the community is invited. One year, they hosted 70 hungry, thankful neighbors. “I know most of the people who come, and we hear it all the time: They say that if it wasn’t for us, they wouldn’t have a Christmas meal.”
Interestingly, Costanzo’s life plan didn’t necessarily include opening a bakery. But, when he retired from a long career working in food service at the Capital District Psychiatric Center in Albany and heard the space was available, he jumped at the chance to make the bakery his second act.
While Costanzo makes most of the sweets, his wife is the baker in charge of the scones and banana cream pies. However, Costanzo’s homemade creampuffs are the biggest draw. “I don’t know why people love them so much,” he says, adding that he sells two to three hundred every two to three days. “It took me three months to figure out the filling—the secret is blending whipped cream and Bavarian cream—and now I can never change it.”
After spending time with Costanzo, it’s clear that not only does he love baking, but he’s also grateful for what he has—and he’s a people-pleaser, too. “I tell people if you want a cake, give me a couple of hours and I’ll make you anything you want,” he says. “A lady asked me if I could make my raspberry crumb cake again. I haven’t made that recently so that’s on today’s agenda. Not too many bakeries will do that. I guess that’s part of the charm.”
The Little Bake Shop
223 Mansion St, Coxsackie
518.731.6633
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Related: Coxsackie Is a Delightful Place to Live Along the Hudson
