Matthew Rosenzweig: The Baker’s Grove, Shrewsbury

“For me, a lot of baking is nostalgic,” says owner and pastry chef Matthew Rosenzweig. “It goes back to baking with my grandmother, and when I was young and inspired to try things.”

The entrepreneur launched the bakery in 2021. There he and his team regularly combine nostalgia (butter-rich crumb bars and dense brownies) with setting inspiration in motion (avid community support). It’s a combination that feels natural to him.

“Baking is such a communal experience; you’re never making something just for yourself,” says Rosenzweig. “There’s always someone around, and you’ll say, ‘You’ve got to taste this with me!’ That translates to working with the community. It’s part of the allure: You want to make things for other people to enjoy as well.”

Rosenzweig’s excitement to collaborate with and give back to his community began before he even opened the bakery. His idea: to offer his space periodically, free of charge, to a diverse range of small businesses. From there, they could make connections with his customers.

“There were a few people who were doing things I loved that I wasn’t doing myself, like Pie Girl and Benchmark Breads,” he says. “I thought it would be great to spotlight them, and it grew from there. It’s a nice way to expose our customers to what people are doing locally.”

Now held once or twice a week, these pop-up events have become extremely popular. Small businesses are now reaching out to Rosenzweig to ask him for a slot on the roster.

“I was fortunate enough to come from The Flaky Tart, where I had built-in customers,” he says. “But what if I was going out on my own and had to start fresh? Being able to expose these businesses to our customers—that’s a boost I would have loved had I been in their position. I'm glad to be able to provide that for them.

“They bring in customers who might know about them but don’t know about us. They get to experience our bakery for the first time, and our customers get to experience their stuff. It’s a win-win for everyone and creates a bigger community.”

Small local businesses that have brought their warmth and homemade treats to The Baker’s Grove’s pop-up events include Salvaje, Meals with Amina, Handcrafted Chocolate, ESO Artisanal Pasta, and many more.

“I promote events each week to our Facebook and Instagram accounts,” says Rosenzweig, “and our web page shows the community of local farms and vendors where we source our ingredients and retail items. It’s another way to connect people in the community.”

Rosenzweig values the relationships he has with individual farms and with Harvest Drop, a company that delivers produce from over 100 local farms. But what he really enjoys is going straight to the source.

“Every time some type of produce comes into season, I try to take my team to the farm or orchard to teach them how to pick out what’s ripe,” he says. “You can’t beat something that’s grown down the street and picked right off the tree. I’m happy to share that and get them excited and involved.”

Other organizations, both local and global, have benefited from Rosenzweig’s community-first mind-set, such as The Community Food Bank of New Jersey (proceeds from his wonderfully addictive salted chocolate-chunk cookie and scone sales), World Central Kitchen (proceeds from scone sales helped provide meals for Ukrainian refugees), Shrewsbury Borough School (cookies were donated for a sports event), and the Red Bank CROP Hunger Walk (The Baker’s Grove was a sponsor).

“It’s been a lot of work; I’ve been going nonstop for the past two years,” says Rosenzweig. “The baking in and of itself is a huge job. But I make the time to work with the community because it’s important, and that’s been rewarding.

“I’m very Type A,” he laughs. “But I do have a fantastic team. If I have to step away for a bit to work on something, I know we’re in good hands.”

Rosenzweig’s community-driven possibilities for 2024? He’s considering baking classes at The Baker’s Grove and a fundraiser to support a local animal shelter with proceeds from homemade dog treats. A few more ideas are swirling in his mind, much like the cinnamon pecan streusel running through his crème fraîche Bundt cake. But one thing’s for certain:

“I want to keep going like this and see where it takes us,” he says. “I want to be open to whatever presents itself.”

THE BAKER’S GROVE
524 Broad St., Shrewsbury
732.243.3249
thebakersgrove.com