Andreea Enica came to the United States from Romania to pursue one dream and instead found another, sweeter one.
While Andreea studied here on a tennis scholarship, her twin, Florentina, also a tennis player, pursued her studies in France.
“After college I just decided to get together with my twin, and the U.S. has so many opportunities,” Florentina said. “This business here brought us together.”
“This business” is a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise, which the pair opened in November at 303 N. Central Ave. in Hartsdale, a hamlet in the town of Greenburgh. It”™s part of a company of more than 410 franchised and corporate bakeries in 40-plus states, founded in Las Vegas in 1997 by Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz and now based in Dallas. The Enica sisters”™ is the first Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in Westchester County.
The cakes, individual bundtlets and boxed bundtinis use milk, eggs and flour; come in eight flavors (chocolate chocolate chip, classic vanilla, red velvet, white chocolate raspberry, confetti carrot, lemon, marble, pecan praline), plus a seasonal one; and are topped with a signature cream cheese frosting, floral bow and personalized decorations.
We were gifted with a marble bundt cake and assorted bundtinis from the bake shop and have to say: They fulfilled all our sweet dreams.
But for the sisters, the cakes symbolize a sweeter dream still ”” the American one.
“We came to the States not speaking much English,” Andreea told us at the Nov. 4 ribbon- cutting. “I had the opportunity to come and play tennis and I was offered the scholarship so that was a door opening for me. From there, opportunities came our way. We worked hard and here we are today making this dream together.”
Making it even sweeter: Along the way, the sisters met their husbands, who had also immigrated to America ”” one from Romania and one from Vietnam.
“Our love for both tennis and cakes brought us all together,” Florentina said. “As children, we would gather with family and our grandmother welcomed us with freshly baked cake. So bundt cakes to us mean traveling back to those moments of celebration, laughter and priceless memories.”
Now they”™re helping their customers make memories, too ”” music to the ears of Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, who said that the bake shop shines as an example of the type of small business that is needed right now to help fill vacant storefronts and keep Greenburgh”™s retail economy healthy.
The sisters are happy to do their part, as Westchester is much like their native Romania, Andreea said:
“I lived in Texas for a few years but, as you know, Texas does not have the four seasons. So being back in this area, just the seasons themselves, reminds me of home. We”™ve been welcomed. We want to bring the joy to people, but it really feels like people are bringing the joy to us.”
The twins are using the tagline “Bring the Joy” to help sell the cakes ”” with additional locations a possibility, Florentina added.
”Our cakes are delicious,” Andreea said, “so every time somebody takes a bite of our cake, we just hear every single time ”˜Wow.”™ So it”™s bringing them joy and them bringing us joy,” Andreea said.
The store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. For more, call 914-915-9060 or visit nothingbundtcakes.com.
