Sweet Treats is spreading sweetness and great food all throughout downtown

By ROB SULLIVAN

Downtown Bridgeport has just gotten a little bit sweeter.

Sweet Treats opened its doors on Main Street nearly three months ago and is already becoming a favorite of Bridgeporters with a sweet tooth. That’s no surprise given the tantalizing aroma of pastries, cakes, pies and freshly brewed coffee that greets every customer as they enter the spotless new restaurant.

Sweet Treats is located at 960 Main Street, a spot that has been the home of many restaurants including Wendy’s 30 years ago, Quiznos and, most recently, Chick-lets. The ill-fated chicken restaurant lasted only a few months before shutting its doors, despite being greatly hyped.

“We are going to break the curse,” smiled co-owner Moses Garcia during a recent interview with the Banner.

Garcia owns Sweet Treats with Cesar Torres, who is a baker by trade, having worked in Bridgeport area bakeries for more than 20 years. Garcia is a professional massage therapist who originally began his career as a baker and is now returning to his roots.

The two owners were scouting for a place in both Trumbull and Fairfield, but found the rents in the suburbs were too high. Ultimately, they found the Main Street location and decided it was a perfect fit for the product they wanted to offer.

“What really attracted us to this location is that people are living downtown now,” said Garcia, a native of Bridgeport. “Years ago there was no housing downtown so there were really not a lot of great opportunities for a bakery like ours.”

With more Bridgeport residents now actually living in the downtown area, Sweet Treats has made its hours accommodating for its neighbors. One of the few downtown businesses that is open seven days a week, its doors are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The food at Sweet Treats is delightful, but although their specialty is the delicacies that come out of the oven, including cookies, cakes and pies, the restaurant also caters to the workers of the Park City who are interested in grabbing a quick sandwich before heading back to work. Peruvian tamales and pepperoni bread are just two of the popular items on the Sweet Treats menu.

“Our empanadas are very successful,” Garcia said. “We have chicken and ground beef right now and we are thinking of adding some new varieties. We try to respond to what our customers want. We listen to what they have to say and we respond.”

Along those lines, if you don’t seed what you want in their gleaming display case, just ask. For example if you come in to the shop one morning with a hankering for cannoli pie, and you don’t see one, ask and it will be ready for you by the afternoon.

“Absolutely,” said Garcia. “Just this morning we had a customer ask for a pound cake and we are baking it now. It will be ready later today.”

It is that dedication to customer service that has quickly become one of the hallmarks of the new eatery. The owners want the customer to know that their service and food are second to none. Takeout orders are also welcome at Sweet Treats. Just call 203-290-5718.