New Café Bakery Brings Sweets to Main Street

If Main Street in Ramsey smells a little sweeter these days, it’s because pastry chef Michael Volpe has officially moved into town.

L’Arte della Pasticceria, a café and bakery now open at 107-109 East Main Street, just celebrated its two-week anniversary. Volpe, who has been working with his two business partners for over a year to plan the business, and choose and build out a location, says so far, the shop has been well-received by the community.

“So far, it’s been phenomenal,” Volpe said. “We were here building out the location for a few months before we opened, and people were knocking on the windows, wondering when they could come in. I think people are really glad there is a bakery here. It’s been really nice.”

The bakery and café has a cool, modern décor, which Volpe said was inspired by trips he took to different parts of Italy over the past few years.

“We looked at so many different cafes, took what we liked from different ones and tried to incorporate that,” he said. “We really wanted this to have a European feel.”

The food is influenced by Europe, too.

Volpe describes his style as making classic Italian pastry and cookie recipes with a modern American twist, plus some French influence.

“I find that French pastries look nicer, but Italian ones taste a little better, so I try to combine those two aspects,” he said.

But, the ingredients and preparation are all-American.

Volpe said his desserts, breads, gelato, and sandwich menu are all prepared on-premises everyday. He uses fresh, local ingredients, which prompts his weekly trip to the Ramsey Farmers’ Market to pick up foods, fruits, and veggies that he uses to bake.

L’Arte della Pasticceria also specializes in coffee and espresso. Volpe said the coffee the café carries is a special blend he designed that is custom made by the Jersey Shore Coffee Roasters in Leonardo, NJ.

Volpe brings a long career of experience to his new shop.

A retired member of the US Marine Corps who fought in Desert Storm, Volpe graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Throughout his career, he’s worked at restaurants in NYC and Austria, at casinos in Atlantic City and the Midwest, on a cruise ship, and has even taught culinary courses at Baltimore International College.

The Brick Township native moved his family to Ramsey last year for his new business venture.

“I spent my whole career working for other people,” he said of his decision to open his own shop. “I wanted to do this for myself and my family.”

And he felt that Main Street in Ramsey, was the perfect place to do it.

“We really thought this town could use a bakery like this,” he said. “And we are open to the community. We have windows that look into our kitchen. We hope that people pass by, and take a look at what we are making. We want to become part of the culture here.”