Where "Dear Friends" Get Dessert

Growing up in a suburb north of Boston, in the City of Medford, MA, I was influenced with the entrepreneurial spirit at a young age.  My mother owned a very successful catering business and my father was an executive in the fur industry, eventually opening his own, and also very successful in real estate investments.  Coming from an Italian family, food was a big part of our lives and family gatherings always included many relatives and friends …. so there was always food being served.  Pasta with gravy (some call it sauce) was a meal often served, followed by desserts from our local favorite bakery or delicious Italian cookies baked by my aunts.  I was fortunate that I learned to cook and bake at a young age.  As a very young child my mother gave me flour, water and food coloring to play with.  Unbeknownst to me, that sealed my destiny.

My husband Rick and I married in 1984, and when he was presented with a career opportunity, we shuffled off to Buffalo to start our lives together.  We soon settled in North Buffalo as we truly appreciated the sense of community this neighborhood offered.  Raising our four children as a stay-at-home mom, I felt the entrepreneurial spirit tugging at my bones.  What could I do with four young children?  I started to bake cakes and cookies for friends.  Then a friend asked me to make 300 cannoli for her daughter’s wedding.  I became smitten.

Sweet Necessities by Diane was launched as a home-based bakery.  I continued my education in baking and decorating and for 17 years supplied many people with cookies, pastries, gourmet dessert cakes, special occasion cakes, and wedding cakes.  After my children had grown, I decided it was time to grow as well.  While I designed my plan to own and operate an Italian style bakery/café fashioned like the many I frequented in Boston’s North End (the Little Italy of Boston), it was clear that the beautiful people of Buffalo wanted more and more of my baked goods.

In 2005 Caramici’s Dessert Bar & Bakery was born and resided on Hertel Ave in North Buffalo for 12 years. (Some of you may remember our restaurant too). Fast forward, we have settled into our new facility at 3200 Elmwood Ave. Our name was changed to Caramici’s Bakery, which derives from two Italian words (cara and amici) that, loosely translated, mean dear friends.

We at Caramici’s are passionate about our work.  Whether you enjoy a simple, but delicious, cannoli or need a wedding cake for 200 people, every customer becomes our “dear friend” when they walk through the door.

My name is Diane Serra and I am the creator and owner of Caramici’s Bakery, where “dear friends” get dessert!