Bread, cookies and cake, oh my! You can find all of that and many more delicious treats at the Edison-based bakery, La Bon Bake Shoppes.
Owner Brian Pansari purchased the well-known La Bon 10 years ago - known as La Bonbonniere at the time - because he was eager to leave his job in marketing and pave a new career path.
As an amateur baker, La Bon was the perfect next move for Pansari.
“I love to bake as a hobby and as I looked into new opportunities, La Bon was a great fit because I already had such a personal passion,” he said.
La Bon has four locations, a main shop in Edison where everything is produced and then smaller shops in Somerset, South Plainfield and Woodbridge.
The bakery offers everything from custom wedding cakes to grab-and-go sandwiches, making La Bon an easy, one-stop shop in Central Jersey for baked goods.
La Bon also makes all homemade fillings, including seasonal options, and whipped cream for its desserts. This is something that sets the bakery apart from others in the area.
“Making fillings from scratch, such as from fresh Jersey peaches and blueberries during the summer months, is something we do to help us stand out from other bakeries especially larger food stores,” Pansari explained.
The bakery features varied baked good specials each month with January highlighting its bacon cheddar or orange cranberry scones, roasted garlic pesto baguette and hot chocolate cupcake (pictured above). It also offers gluten-friendly and vegan options.
La Bon has also started offering catered meals for local businesses as well as wholesale cakes and desserts for larger establishments such as restaurants and banquet halls.
For the entire 10 years that he has owned La Bon, Pansari has been pleased to be a member of the chamber. The Hispanic Business Expo and Largest Networking Party are two of his favorite events each year.
“The chamber is a great outlet, especially for small businesses such as La Bon,” Pansari said. “Small business owners face a ton of challenges but the chamber provides a good network filled with other business owners that can help you figure out solutions. To put it simply, if you’re going to have a business in Middlesex County, you need to join the chamber. There’s so much to take advantage of.”
