Sakaya Kitchen's downtown restaurant is still being worked on, but owner Richard Hales let Short Order have a sneak peek at the location and, most importantly, the kitchen where Baketress Vanessa Paz is already busy working on items that both surprise and delight.
Sakaya Kitchen Downtown, located at 125 SE Third Avenue, will feature the same color scheme and large chalkboard menu as the original. Upscale tabletops had just arrived, ready to be installed. Graffiti-inspired lamps were designed by Brooklyn artist Donna Brady.
Two counters, one for lunch and one for baked goods and Panther coffee, will ease traffic. The main difference, however, is in the size of the kitchen.
The new kitchen is large enough to serve as headquarters for both Hales'
food truck prep and bakery for Paz's operations. We visited Paz, who
was happily creating fall-inspired baked goods for Vizcaya's Halloween
bash. She showed us racks of whoopie pie components and giant cookies
fresh out of the oven.
Paz plans to do re-mixes of classic
desserts with only two rules - they must have a twist (like miso soy
glaze on the pumpkin whoopie pies) and they can't be cupcakes. Why no
cupcake love? A saturated market. Instead, Vanessa and her assistant,
Lourdes Figuroa, will concentrate on pies, cookies, whoopie pies,
snickerdoodles, dessert bars, and doughnuts.
Hales is giving The
Baketress lots of creative freedom with her menu. "I'm a control freak", he told
Short Order. "I have my hand in everything in my business. I did these
floors myself. But, if I'm going to grow, I have to allow people that
are strong and creative to have input."
Though Hales is known
for his Korean-inspired Asian fusion cuisine, the first business he ever
worked at was a Tampa bakery from 1991-96. "I've always wanted to get
back into baking. This is perfect timing", he said.
Sakaya
Kitchen Downtown is just about ready for its opening, with The Baketress
food truck following soon after. In the meantime, you can snag one of
Vanessa Paz's pies ala mode ($4.50) or giant cookies ($2) at Sakaya
Kitchen Midtown.
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