Naidre's Cafe Owner Opening Custom Cake Shop On 7th Ave.

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Janice Pullicino has owned Naidre’s Cafe & Bakery on Seventh Avenue since 2007 but has recently seen a surge of orders for custom cakes, decorated cookies and cupcakes.

So Pullicino is opening up "BKLYN Cake Studio" two blocks away, which will service her custom baked goods orders without most of the trimmings and features of a full-fledged cafe.

"BKLYN Cake Studio is going to be really just cake-, cupcake- and decorated-cookie-focused," Pullicino told Patch. "If you want a birthday cake that looks like Pikachu, or a Batman cake — and we do weddings and showers and other sorts of occasions too. There will be some retail but it won’t be like a cafe."

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Pullicino says what makes her cake stand out is the detail and care she puts into each custom order. She considers herself and artist and says it shows in her work.

You can see a gallery of some of her cakes above and more on her Facebook page.

"Even with cake, there are issues of design, color, things like that," she told Patch. "Like when I paint flowers on a cupcake, they’re not just bright green or straight out of the tube food coloring. I really take the time to make natural colors, make sure the colors balance on the cake. Design-wise I have a good sense. I’m very meticulous about my work, so if I make figurines, they’re pretty darn good."

While the studio won't be a place to sit down and have a cup of coffee like Naidre’s is, there will still be offerings for the casual customer who doesn't necessarily want a custom order or who needs something on-the-fly, Pullicino said.

The store will have "mini cakes, just in case you need a small cake last-minute, or something to bring to an office party. Things that you can just kind of grab and go," she said. She also wants to offer a slew of "retro snacks" such as black-and-white cookies that were popular at Naidre's.

And no, Nadire's — which bills itself as "the oldest established cafe in the South Slope" — isn't going anywhere.

"It’s been quite something, I love that little cafe," she said. "The cafe is staying. People keep asking me if I'm getting rid of the cafe, and the answer is 'no.'"

Pullicino is waiting on a few more permits and licenses to clear before she opens the shop for good and said she is planning on a soft opening this weekend.

For more information, check out BKLYN Cake Studio's website here and Naidre's website here.