Celebrating 100 Years Of Carlo's Bakery and the American Dream

For Becky and Jerry Sellers, Saturday morning's Cake Boss block party was a pleasant, but unexpected, surprise. The couple drove into town from Clover, South Carolina—a 12-hour drive—to pick up pastries from Carlo's Bakery. 

"I had it all planned," said Jerry, who said that he had never seen the show and had been convinced by his wife to make the road trip. "We were going to zip in and zip out." But around 11 a.m., the couple had already been in line for close to an hour and still had at least 50 people in front of them. 

A few feet in front of them stood Sara Vukas and her mother Ginger, who had flown in for the occasion from Roswell, Georgia. For 13-year-old Sara, a fan of the show since the first season, waiting in the long line for cupcakes and lobster tails was worth it.

"There are no bakeries in Georgia," said Ginger, "(pastries) taste like the box." 

Other than the pastries, Cake Boss Buddy Valastro and his family members were the main attraction of the day. 

"We're very flattered," said Valastro's sister Grace Fuagno. Interacting with the fans never gets old, she said.  "None of us are shy," Fuagno said, "we all like the spotlight and the cameras. Sometimes we fight over it."

For the occasion, Valastro and his team baked a 14-foot long and 2-foot wide vanilla-chocolate fudge cake—enough to feed 2,000 people. With the cake, Valastro said, he wanted to showcase "what made us famous."

Besides fans from all over the state and the country, some of New Jersey's officials also attended the special birthday. Bob Menendez, U.S. Senator, and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno were there as well as Hudson County Sheriff Juan Perez, Freeholder Anthony Romano, Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr and Mayor Dawn Zimmer.

"This is the real Jersey," said Menendez, speaking to a crowd of hundreds of people on Washington Street. The senator then presented Valastro with a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol. "A century is something we need to recognize," said Menendez.

Guadagno, who said she felt lucky to be stepping in for Gov. Chris Christie who could not make the celebration, said that in another 100 years, Hoboken will be known, not just as the birthplace of  Frank Sinatra and baseball, but also as the birthplace of the Cake Boss.

Unlike some other Jersey-based reality shows, Cake Boss aims to show hard work and dedication, said Valastro. During an interview in the Washington Street bakery, Valastro said that his show aims to shine a positive light on New Jersey. He explained that the show is about more than cake. Sen. Menendez described said the show is about family, hard work and sacrfice. 

"This is the American Dream," said Freeholder Romano. 

Washington Street, between Newark and First (now known as Carlo's Bakery Way), was closed off to traffic and filled with people all morning. The event was being filmed for an episode of the current season of Cake Boss. 

On July 4, Valastro, his family and the TLC crew will travel to Italy for the show, where they will spend three weeks to shoot a couple of episodes. 

"I hear it's really popular in Italy," said Valastro, "they call me el bossa del torta."

While Carlo's is known throughout the country because of Buddy and the television show. Hobokenites and the Valastro family go way back.

Assemblyman Ramos, who grew up a couple of blocks from the original Carlo's Bakery location, said that the bakery had been part of many important moments in his family's life. 

"My mom's wedding cake, my wife's baby shower cake," Ramos said. "Carlo's has been part of many lives throughout Hoboken and now the country."

After appraisals and speeches, it was time for Valastro to take the microphone, address the cheering crowd and put this special birthday into words. 

Choking up when mentioning his deceased father, he said that working hard will make you achieve anything in life. And his dedication to his family and to hard work can be tasted in Carlo's pastries, he said. 

"We stick to our values," said Valastro. "I'm a baker from Hoboken, New Jersey. And proud of it."