Jossi’s Bakery & Shop brings a slice of the Caribbean

by Dan Holland

For Josette “Jossi” Rivera, running a family-owned bakery and shop is the culmination of honing her 15 years of baking experience, which included a three-year stint as a local pastry chef.

A native of Honduras, Rivera came to America 12 years ago with her husband, Ernesto, and their three children. All of them now help out with the business, along with her brother, nephew, friends and other employees.

Originally trained as an accountant in her home country, Rivera began taking lessons from a renowned international pastry chef while the family lived for a time in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, where she discovered her new passion.

The shop, located at 9210 Broadview Rd., had a soft opening April 15 followed by a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on June 24 attended by a number of city officials, residents and business owners.

“When I first came to America, I started to think about my project, but it took me years to get here,” she said. “One of the things that helped me a lot was to learn American tastes and what they like while I was working for Giant Eagle for three years as a cake designer. I also learned a lot about production and management during my time there.”

Rivera specializes in international flavors with a Caribbean flair.

“My concept here is to do cupcakes, cakes and pastries, but I want to be a little bit different,” she explained. “I like the Caribbean flavors, but it’s hard to find mango or guava flavors here. I do traditional flavors, but I also do passion fruit and mango cupcakes. Many people try my passion fruit cake and love it; it’s something different and fresh.”

Other specialties include Alfajores – traditional Argentinian cookies, guava rolls and dulce de leche, which is a milk-based, caramel flavor filling.

Although orders of cookies, cakes and cupcakes can always be ordered ahead of time for pickup, the shop also provides a cake express – build your own cake – service for those on a tight schedule.

“If someone needs a cake right away, we can make it right then and allow the customer to choose from different flavors, toppings, icings, and drip colors,” she said.

Customers can also dine in or lounge on the outdoor patio with cake by the slice, lunch box cakes or a variety of “small bites” pastries along with coffee, lattes and sodas. The shop also carries an assortment of jellies, flavorings and sauces.

Rivera, who is also a painter and artist, works with arts and crafts, jewelry, embroidery and other mediums. All of the paintings and artwork adorning the shop were created by her and family members. One of her ideas is to tie together art and baking, and possibly offer instructional classes.

“For those who like baking – and mostly for decorating cakes – many of them love art as well,” she said. “I love to do decorations because it is a kind of art.”

Rivera said she is grateful to the community and a number of business entities for helping make her dream of owning and running her own business come true.

“I believe that small businesses make the community,” she said. “I feel that with the people; when they come in, they want to support local businesses. I just want to be part of this beautiful community, and I feel grateful for all the support I’ve received from the city, the police, residents and my fellow business neighbors.”

For information or to place orders, visit www.jossisbakery.com.

Main Photo: Josette “Jossi” Rivera’s bakery specializes in international flavors with a Caribbean flair, including mango, guava and passion fruit. Photos by D. Holland.