Papa Ganache bakery opened at a new location on Main Street in Matawan. Display cases at Papa Ganache are filled with organic, vegan and gluten-free treats. With an expanded space and menu, founder Lisa Siroti is hoping to make the bakery’s vegan and gluten-free products mainstream. COURTESY OF LISA SIROTI MATAWAN — The mouth-watering aroma of baking cookies and muffins wafting from Papa Ganache is drifting in a new direction now that the vegan bakery has opened at a new location in downtown Matawan.
According to Lisa Siroti, founder of Papa Ganache, the bakery opened at 106 Main St. on Sept. 29 with a larger café area, expanded menu and additional treats, including musical entertainment and an open mic night.
“We recognized that we needed a bigger space. We were hoping to get more exposure, trying to bring vegan and gluten-free products into the main stream,” Siroti said.
“Our bakery is now a little bigger, but still adorable.”
The bakery will still carry organic, vegan and gluten-free baked goods but Siroti plans to take advantage of the larger site to expand the menu.
Papa Ganache, formerly located on Church Street in Keyport, offers the traditional baked treats like cookies and muffins but with a vegan flare.
Siroti creates 16 varieties of cupcakes and specialty items including pretzel muffins, vegan cheeses, apple pie pizza and cheesecake cups.
“We will be opening with roasted apple, pumpkin, almond and red velvet cheesecake cups,” Siroti said.
In the bakery, customers will now be able to grab a quick bite. The new lunch menu will offer soup, sandwiches, chili, corn bread and even potato sandwiches.
The menu includes a variety of coffee, tea and espresso choices.
A new display case will showcase the expanded selection of gluten-free products now on the menu.
“A lot of our customers are not just vegan, they also have allergies such as dairy allergies and lactose intolerance,” Siroti said, adding the aim is to make these treats available to people who can’t eat these bakery items normally.
“There is nothing like watching a mom and kid come into a bakery and have a bakery experience for the first time. It is also healthier than mainstream bakery items because everything is small batch, everything is natural and organic.”
Along with the new features, Siroti has kept the old-fashioned ambiance of Papa Ganache, including the tin wall that displays an assortment of vintage cookie, pie and muffin tins.
In addition to baked goods, Siroti will continue to host the Papa Ganache Project, a social services program for young people in the community who work with mental health professionals through the real-life experiences encountered in this vegan bakery, the website explains.
Siroti, a licensed clinical social worker, helps youths work on self-esteem, confidence and anger management issues through the bakery.
“We are going to have an herb garden where we will have the children working on giving back to the community,” Siroti said.
A Matawan resident for the past 12 years, Siroti decided the downtown area is the perfect spot to relocate.
“The town of Matawan has seen their own challenges in development, so having an adorable place like ours, we are hoping that it will invite other retailers to come and share the good vibes of Matawan,” she said.
Papa Ganache opened two years ago in Keyport as the shared vision of Siroti and her partner, a vegan baker.
“He had a life dream of opening a vegan bakery and I wanted to open a social services program,” Siroti said. “We wanted to combine the two using the backdrop of a vegan bakery as a wonderful place to engage children to feel productive and connected to the community, have a place to go, feel better about themselves, team building, and sharing.”
Six months after opening, Siroti said she was left with the “pastry bag” when her partner moved on but, determined to develop the product line, she continued fine-tuning the vegan and gluten-free products to make them tastier.
“We have developed our line, making our products taste better, to be more mainstream,” Siroti said.
“At this point there is no difference in eating a cupcake from here than something made with butter and eggs. … We give everyone the ‘Pepsi’ challenge.”
Anyone with questions about the menu can call 732-217-1750 or send an email to [email protected].