Veronica Martins has missed the days before 2020 when a child would walk into the family bakery all smiles and pick out a treat from the display case.
But that beloved tradition is back as of Saturday, Oct. 11.
The popular Moneta Moments Bakery owned by Martins and her mom, Diane Moneta Smith, is opening a second location in town that is walk-in service/retail.
The popular Moneta Moments Bakery owned by Veronica Martins and her mom, Diane Moneta Smith, is opening a second location in town that is walk-in service/retail. (Courtesy)
Their other bakery in Windsor at 1077 Palisado Ave., went to pre-order and pick-up only and has remained that way.
The mother/daughter will sell their nut-free bakery products: cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, cookies. cannoli, as well as several lines of nut-free products, including ice cream.
The original bakery building will be baking headquarters for all the bakery products, including special event cakes that require pre-ordering.
There will never be too much baking for mom Smith.
“To me baking is like a therapy,” Smith said. “It’s feeling someone is giving from their heart.”
Martins is the cake decorator.
The mother/daughter team opened the business in 2012 after Martins quit her job as an accountant because she wanted to raise a family. She’s had three kids since then who have all grown up in the bakery, she said.
They call the business Moneta Moments because the Moneta family on her mom’s side has a rich history in town, but no one to carry on the name, Martins said.
Smith, who raised five children on home-cooked family meals, including dessert, said cooking runs in the family.
The popular Moneta Moments Bakery owned by Veronica Martins and her mom, Diane Moneta Smith, is opening a second location in town that is walk-in service/retail. (Courtesy)
Smith said her mom was the main cook for the Windsor school system and for a nursing home in town.
Smith said that by baking for customers, “It’s providing people with something I love and I love to give.”
She said “sitting around a table is important,” so “why not enjoy a good treat while doing it?”
The nut-free bakery opened in 2012.
The new walk-in bakery in a space of about 700 square feet is located at 150 Broad St. in the busy center of town with high foot traffic at Founder’s Square.
The handful of other nut-free products they will carry for retain include: Vermont Nut Free Chocolates , Mouth Party Caramel, Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream, and Cerbones Bakery .
Martins said the bakery is staying away from the term “allergen-friendly” because too many people thought that meant, “gluten-free.”
They decided to go nut-free on the original opening because Smith’s granddaughter, who is Martins’ niece, struggles with a nut allergy that had limited her early on at social events like birthday parties and other occasions.
The popular Moneta Moments Bakery owned by Veronica Martins and her mom, Diane Moneta Smith, is opening a second location in town that is walk-in service/retail. (Courtesy)
What’s it like for the mom/daughter to work together?
“I think we’re a perfect team,” Smith said.
To which Martins quickly responded, “Ditto.”
