Behind Gaston’s Bakeshop

Emily Gaston, a former Steinert Spartan, is now the owner of Gaston’s Bakeshop in Allentown, New Jersey. I was able to sit down with her and ask a few questions about her experience since opening her bakery and this is what she said.

When asking her, “Why did you decide to open a bakery?”, she informed me that opening a bakery was never her plan. During her time in college at the Culinary Institute of America she never thought of owning a business, as she never felt qualified to. Gaston claims, “It was definitely a mixture of a good challenge & an incredible support system that led me to this business,”. Gaston says that the hardest part of running her business has been finding a balance between her personal life and her work life “Finding the right balance of self-discipline without being too harsh on myself has been hard,”. Since she’s pretty much the only person in the kitchen, Gaston dedicates most of her time to baking everything, advertising on social media, taking orders, and running the store on Saturdays and Sundays. As you would expect, this makes it difficult to separate home life and work life. Being less harsh on herself and finding days to live a “normal life” is something that’s helped her tremendously. On top of the business, some customers just don’t understand the amount of work that’s put into running her business since she’s only open two days a week. Her “unconventional business style” is required for the quality of her items to remain, “I am a HUGE believer in quality over quantity- I would rather be open less days to ensure my products are fresh & up to my quality standard,”. She says it’s been hard to accept but she simply cannot please everyone and she’s extremely lucky for “finding her people”. 

Before Gaston’s Bakeshop was Gaston’s Bakeshop in Allentown, NJ, it was an online storefront. When asked why she decided to expand, she explained that she never had any real plan to expand, like she never had a plan to own her own business, all she knew was that she wanted more and soon after the bakeshop was born, “Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely terrified, but it was the first new expansion that something within me knew was doable. It was a leap of faith, but boy am I glad I made it!”. 

Although the business has brought a lot of hardships with it, it’s also incredibly rewarding. Gaston says that the best part of her job is the community that has grown around her, “At the end of the day, I’m just a simple girl doing what I love- to be able to find people who not only appreciate my creations, but also check in on me, means the world. I have absolutely developed a second family within this business which I am beyond grateful for,”.

Bakeshop Menu Guide

Emily Gaston’s favorite baked good that she sells is her salted caramel chocolate chip cookie- not only for it’s delicious taste and texture but also for the sentimental value it holds, “it was the cookie that started the business back in June 2021 & has followed me ever since. A single cookie has held so much history in the creation & growth of Gaston’s Bakeshop,”. This cookie is a representation of her menu, a revamped version of childhood favorites. It’s also the most popular item, and for good reason! Cookies are clearly a favorite across all boards as they’re also Gaston’s favorite item to make, due to their versatility and widespread appeal. Apart from cookies, she also enjoys making petit gateaux, which are mini mousse cakes made up of many different textured and flavored layers. She says they’re a fun challenge and have long been some of her favorites to make. Lastly, I asked Gaston what she likes to order when she visits other bakeries, “I love a good pain au chocolat – my favorite being from The Baker’s Grove in Shrewsbury! You can certainly tell a lot from a bakery’s croissant, the quality of ingredients, the care put into the laminated process, and, most importantly, if they’re making them entirely in house!”. 

Make sure to stop by Gaston’s Bakeshop on 4 South Main Street in Allentown, New Jersey and pick up some incredible treats from an incredible person.