Monkey Bread Celebrates 25 Sweet Years On The Ocean City Boardwalk

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Everyone has their own Ocean City traditions. A certain restaurant you always eat at, a favorite beach where you always lay out your towels. For many, one of those traditions is visiting Monkey Bread every summer to indulge in these sticky-sweet pastries.

The Boardwalk bakery is celebrating 25 years this summer, and owner Laura Idell is going all out with a special anniversary weekend.

"You see the same people every year on their family vacations," Idell, who has owned the shop since 2011, told Patch. An Ocean City native, she took over shortly after she graduated from college.

"I always wanted to own my own business," Idell said. "I never dreamed it would be so soon."

Since then, Idell has expanded from the original monkey bread - a cross between a cinnamon bun and a sticky bun - to incorporate new flavors and varieties.

"We just try to be as innovative as possible," Idell said. The original monkey bread is coated in cinnamon sugar, baked in a brown sugar glaze and coated with a buttercream icing. If that's not enough, you can try other flavors like chocolate peanut butter or banana chip. Monkey Bread has also offered seasonal specials, like maple bacon or pumpkin.

Customers really love the different flavors, Idell said.

One of their most popular items is the monkey bread sundae - which takes the pastry, warms it, places two scoops of vanilla ice cream on top and finishes it off with brown sugar glaze topping. That treat often inspires other people in line to order it as well, Idell said.

You can try these treats and more during their anniversary celebrations. Check out the below flyer for details. You can also visit Monkey Bread's Facebook page.

And then, you can make visiting Monkey Bread your own new Ocean City tradition.

"Knowing that it's an Ocean City staple and that it's something people look forward to...it's pretty cool," Idell said.