A mother and daughter team is setting out to make 2025 Hershey’s sweetest year yet. Julie Moore and Lauren Straka-the dynamic duo at the heart of Moore Desserts by Julie-are transitioning the bakery from a well-loved basement operation to a warm and welcoming brick and mortar this fall, reports local media outlet Penn Live.
Moore and Straka are bringing their sweet treats to 1130 Cocoa Avenue. The pair generously carved out some time to speak with What Now Philadelphia about launching their first storefront, with Straka explaining: “The bakery is actually in the basement of my parents house and it’s been since 2016. We’ve outgrown it significantly and we want to continue to have the business grow, so this is the best next step for us…to continue being able to bring beautiful desserts to people.”
The new storefront will allow Moore Desserts to welcome more customers to enjoy the bakery’s unique experience, while still accommodating existing fans. Straka states: “The parking is significant because we do classes so we have a lot of people who come in at once. We’re really engraved in the Hersey area so we wanted to be able to stay there, where a lot of our people are. The space is also very large and gives us a lot of opportunity to do the things that we wanted to do.”
Speaking of the things they want to do, Moore and Straka are setting out to transcend the traditional confines of conventional bakeries. Moore provides some insight into what makes the concept so unique, saying: “One of the main things of our business is that we do a lot of decorating classes. It has always been my dream to have a space that would allow us to set up a beautiful area for decorating. I want to create a really inviting space for that. We also want to create a space for people to come in and grab something out of the case and have a coffee. Ours will be way different from what the normal is for a bakery-it’s more of a cakery. I want people to walk in and be wowed by how beautiful it is. We don’t want anything like the industrial kind of look-think a real pretty French country-kind of vibe…and we’ll have an area that will allow me to do my consultations.”
Existing fans needn’t worry about losing the menu items they love; Straka and Moore don’t intend to abandon any of the essential elements of Moore Desserts. However, the pair have plans to expand upon and introduce new and innovative elements. Straka explains: “It’s staying relatively the same to what we have at our market locations, however being able to come in and sit down and decorate; that will be different. We will also do flower bouquets. We want to do a flower bouquet bar with our cupcakes.”
While the storefront will ultimately take over the business of the Hershey Market location, Lancaster Central Market customers will still be able to indulge their sweet teeth; Moore and Straka intend to keep that space up and running.
Future regulars should mark their calendars (but in pencil) for September. Straka and Moore state that they are hoping to open in the ninth month, but certainly in the fall. Moore Desserts by Julie will-tentatively-be open from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday through Saturday once it opens its doors.
