New Business: Sweet Jenni's Making Main Street Even Sweeter

For residents who are familiar with Westhampton's Main Street, when it comes to sweets and ice cream, there are many options to choose from. On Fourth of July weekend, Sweet Jenni's Bake Shop – not to be confused with Sweet Andy's Cookies – joined the batch.

Jennifer Keller, the namesake and pastry chef, and Patrick Dempsey, the mind behind the creativity, kept smiling on opening weekend as customers flocked to the store.

In a short amount of time, Keller says the feedback has been terrific.

"People love the cupcakes and we are getting repeat business already."

Sweet Jenni's specializes in decorative cupcakes in all sizes. Large racks hold dozens of dazzling cupcakes with eye-catching toppings and colorful flavored frosting.

Keller's recipes have kept customers coming back for more than seven years. Altogether she says there are more than 50 cupcake combinations and that doesn't include the seasonal variations. Customer favorites, S’mores, Oreo, Double Chocolate, Reese’s and Red Velvet are always first to leave the shelves.

Keller grew up in Patchogue and spent many years out of state, catering large events. Seven years ago she found her niche making specialty cakes.

"Cupcakes have evolved within the past 3 or 4 years and it's no longer an upcoming trend, it's here now," Keller said. "I never intended to one day open a cupcake shop."

Even though the store is hidden in the small cove on Main Street, there's still a line of people who followed the cupcake truck parked right in front.

"It's exciting to see customers who shopped in the Riverhead store and now come here to place orders and try new flavors," Keller said.

The cupcakes are baked in commercial bakeshop in Center Moriches, packaged and delivered fresh every day.

The cupcakes are priced competitively: the regular cupcake, jumbo, mini-pack and giant go for $2, $3, $12, and $25 respectively.

"What's better than reasonable prices with cupcakes that taste gourmet?" asked Dempsey. "It's the price that makes it a great value for your money."

Dempsey was introduced to Keller by an associate five years ago and worked for her as the business manager at the Riverhead location. The partners compliment each other and joke that it is a good thing they're not married.

Since they joined forces, they have been unstoppable. They sell to vendors throughout New York City and even take the cupcakemobile out East where they are permitted to sell cupcakes from their trendy truck.

"We are selling what's new now but we are also keeping it fresh by looking ahead," said Dempsey. "We want to be on the cutting edge of cupcakes."

What do they have that makes them unique? Dempsey said their cupcakes have visual appeal and "simply taste better." The latest trend is their ice cream filled cupcakes that are slowly becoming more popular.

"Opening any store, no matter what kind is going to be tough, but we have what it takes to hopefully make it," he added.

To find out how the cupcakes taste, click here.