New Bakery, Coffee Shop Opens On Moody Street

WALTHAM, MA — There's a new bakery and coffee shop in town.

"We're trying to open up something that brightens someone's day and to have a coffee place where people can be regulars," said Paula Andrea De La Torre, who owns the shop with her mother Isabel Pochesci.

Monday, Indulgenza opened quietly on Moody Street in the space that's been empty for two years, but was once a smoothie shop. De La Torre, who lives around the corner, said she would pass the empty space on her way to another family-owned thrift store business two doors down and dream about opening a space where people came in to get their morning croissant or empanada and coffee and she would learn their names as they become regulars.

Although she's lived in Waltham for about a decade and grew up in Newton, she was born in Colombia, where diverse quick-bite bakery coffee shops are common.

"I had the idea before the pandemic, and had been wanting to do it" she said. "I'd always see it and I could just picture it all in my head."

She said even though there was a pandemic and businesses —especially restaurants— were having a rough time of staying open, an opportunity popped up to rent the space, and she couldn't pass it up.

"We don't have control over anything and the pandemic has made me realize that, so [I thought] why not give it a try?" she said. "I'd rather try and fail than not try at all."

She wanted to name the shop the Spanish word that roughly translates to "sweeten up your life," or indulgence. But the name was already taken in the state. Her father, who is Italian, suggested using the Italian word for it.

At first, she was worried people would think it would only be selling Italian sweets.

"But he said 'It's up to you to make the environment you want,'" telling her the business was more than its name. "So that's what we've been doing."

De La Torre's side passion? She's a body builder.

"Everyone who knows me they know," she said. "I love my sweets, I don't eat them all the time, but I love them. I am a body builder, but I also enjoy seeing other people enjoy their sweets. You can be having a bad day and if you have something sweet it's scientifically proven to make you happier, you just have to eat them in moderation."

The menu is a work in progress, she said. Look for empanadas, mac n cheese bites, gluten free and vegan desserts alongside the cake, croissants and other goodies.

The coffee for now is Lavazza, though eventually she plans to expand with her own brand of Colombian coffee and roast it her self.

De La Torre opened Indulgenza desserts Monday in the space once occupied by Moody Street Nutrition

Weekdays the shop opens at 9 a.m. It's open at 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. Closing time is 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Saturday. Friday they are open until 9 p.m. and Sunday until 6 p.m.

346 Moody St bakery joins a number of other specialty bakeries in town.

De La Torre says her shop differs in that, although she will have cakes, it's just a bite, they're small their good they're ready to go, so you're in and out quickly.

Some nearby bakeries or small coffee spots:

• Cafe on The Common (Coffee Shop, baked sweets sandwiches, tables)
• La Castellana bakery at 442 Moody St (cakes, bread, churros, plantains)
• Alba Bakery and Market at 248 Moody St, (Mediterranean baked goods,) temporarily closed.
• Rincon Guatemalteco, 430 River St. (sweet bread and Guatemalan baked goods)
• Kairo's Cake and Bakery at 136 Prospect St. (Tres Leches, cakes, and other Guatemalan baked goods)

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.