If you live in Westchester, chances that you’re familiar with Mount Vernon’s Fleetwood Bakery – a staple of Italian American delights. But did you know that this local gem has recently opened its second location in Pleasantville? If you haven’t checked them out yet, I suggest you go try one of their tasty treats? I recently spoke with owner Enzo Cutaia all about the bakery, their new location in Pleasantville, and the future.
Fleetwood Bakery has been a part of the Westchester community for almost 30 years, and it’s still going strong. In 1997 when Enzo was only 17 and his brother Joe was 20, they decided to buy Angelo’s Bakery from their godparents. Along with their mother Josephine and sister Filomena, they created a mainstay in the community and named it Fleetwood Pastry Shop in honor of the area of Mount Vernon in which it’s located. As Enzo says about the early days, “We learned on the fly straight out of high school. There was a lot of trial and error – but you learn from your mistakes and start to tweak things on your own.”
As time went on and the bakery became a popular spot for customers near and far, Enzo and his partners wanted to expand north. “Lots of people from the Bronx, Yonkers, etc. were moving north. I did some research, and Pleasantville was an up-and-coming town. I thought it would be a perfect central location to a lot of northern Westchester towns. I live in Ossining, like to support the local restaurants, and fell in love with the area.” Fleetwood’s new location officially opened on February 14, 2024, on Wheeler Avenue, and the response has been extremely positive. “We have a lot of repeat customers, and I enjoy getting to know them. When they come in, you can see the joy in their faces,” Enzo said.
Customers can certainly smell all of the delicious baked goods when they come through the door. Fleetwood offers a large array of items from danish, muffins, cakes, pies, pastries, tarts, cookies and more, with all baking done on premises. One of the items they’re most famous for are their Lobster Tails. “We make our own fresh homemade Bavarian cream. Anyone can make the pastry shell, but the cream is what really makes it special.” Other top sellers include their cannoli and strawberry shortcake made with fresh, homemade whipped cream.
The bakery will certainly be busy for the upcoming holiday season, creating everything from specialty Thanksgiving pies in flavors from apple and pumpkin to pecan and coconut cream, to struffoli (honey balls), towering cookie platters and festive gingerbread houses into December.
In 2024, after 27 years in business, Fleetwood Bakery took home a prestigious Best of Westchester Award for Best Italian Bakery from Westchester Magazine. “You put in the time and the hard work and so it’s nice to get recognized. Between opening in Pleasantville, the award, and our Mount Vernon location still going strong – all good things are happening.” And the future looks bright too with some yet-to-be-announced plans in the works. “Everyone wants us everywhere – we have big plans for the future.”
As for the secret to their success? It’s very simple. “We love what we do– I’m at the bakery at 5:30 am every morning. I love meeting the customers. That’s part of me.” The family is also heavily involved in the community – giving back and donating wherever they can whether it’s to the police department, town sports teams or other local entities. “The business is not just in the back baking but knowing who’s in the store and in the community. No matter how busy I am – that’s just who we are.”
