A little more than a year after the Department of Environmental Protection oversaw the demolition of its Audubon storefront, the family business opens up shop on South Haddon Avenue in Haddonfield.
By Matt Skoufalos | August 13, 2024
Cacia’s Haddonfield storefront. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
Last year, Cacia’s Bakery was forced to shutter its Audubon storefront amid an ongoing groundwater contamination issue that eventually led to its demolition by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
On Tuesday, the 71-year-old South Philadelphia bakery opened its latest South Jersey location some two miles down the road in Haddonfield.
“We always wanted to move on our own will, but DEP took control,” said Steven Santore, who co-owns the Haddonfield and Cherry Hill Cacia’s Bakeries with his partner, Leonard Guerriero.
Santore said that he and Guerreiro didn’t have to spend much time deciding to move on the storefront at 26 South Haddon Avenue in Haddonfield. The fit-out, however, was another matter altogether.
The storefront at 26 South Haddon Avenue has seen its share of uses through the years, as Spice C, Two Fish BYOB, Larry’s Deli, Jalepenos, and others.
In its latest incarnation, Cacia’s has foregone dining room seating for an expanded kitchen space that Santore said will help facilitate take-and-go orders, be they for individuals, parties, or catering.
“There’s not much we can’t do here,” Santore said.
Since opening in South Philadelphia in 1953, Cacia’s has blossomed in South Jersey, with locations in Blackwood, Williamstown, Hammonton, and Cherry Hill.
Other locations, “didn’t make it,” Santore said, including Audubon, which shuttered last year after a decade of operation, Berlin, Medford, and Voorhees.
He has high hopes for the brand to find its audience in Haddonfield, where customers familiar with its tomato pie, deli sandwiches, and stromboli may also enjoy new pasta dishes and hot entrees served there.
Behind the counter at Cacia’s Bakery Haddonfield. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
Cacia’s signature dough is prepared fresh daily at its Williamstown location; the breads and pizzas sold in Haddonfield will come from Cherry Hill, Santore said.
Everything else will be made on premises, from its Italian specialties, pastas, soups, salads, and hot and cold sandwiches.
“I think it’s a good town,” Santore said of the move to Haddonfield.
“People have been excited,” he said.
“I want it to do good and for everybody to love our stuff,” Santore said.
Cacia’s Bakery is located at 26 South Haddon Avenue in Haddonfield. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 856-509-7095 or visit caciasbakery.com.
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