Back in August 2022, Prato Bakery announced that it would be opening a fourth location. After years of customers asking for a location to open in Jersey City Heights, the Prato Bakery owners granted this wish. Prato’s newest space is now open at 296 Palisade Avenue as of Wednesday, May 24th, 2023, and is the new home base for the Italian cafe’s kitchen. Read on to learn more about Prato Bakery expanding.
(Photo credit: Prato Bakery’s Facebook)
Opening Another Location
Customers of Prato Bakery learned about the news of an additional location after the owners posted on Prato’s Instagram last year. A photo showed a ceramic sign of the address, “Comune di Jersey City – 296 via Palisade,” and the caption reads, “Coming early fall 2022. As tradition, a handmade ceramic tile by Tuscan artisan @laceramicavinci IT will be decorating another Jersey City storefront.” The storefront is now open for businesses as of May 24th, 2023, according to an Instagram post from Prato.
View this post on Instagram
The Hoboken Girl chatted with the owners exclusively for more details back in 2022. Teresa Bertini, the wife of owner Simone Bertini, said, “We’ve been asked to open there since I would say 4 years now. Well, they ask to open everywhere near where they live, especially in JC Heights.” The Bertinis had help from a realtor to find the “amazing location with parking” on Palisade Ave.
(Photo credit: Prato Bakery’s Facebook)
Teresa, who works full time as a psychotherapist and life coach, shared that they love the new space since the inside is bigger, which is what they were looking for — more space for the kitchen. “We needed a bigger space for the kitchen so we’re moving all the equipment for the kitchen in the Heights,” she said. “This is going to be the one with the kitchen and we’ll distribute to the other three. This way, we’ll have control of the production.”
About Prato Bakery
Prato’s first location opened originally on Erie Street before moving to 371 4th Street, JC in 2018. After that, Prato opened its second location at 201 Washington Street, Hoboken. Then, in 2021, Prato’s third location at 150 Bay Street opened in Jersey City.
^ Inside Prato Bakery’s Hoboken location
(Photo credit: Prato Bakery’s Facebook)
“Everything is absolutely the same in all of the locations and this is very important to us because we make everything fresh every morning and our products are the same, so the menu won’t change in the Heights,” Teresa added. “It’ll still have that continuity. The customers recognize our products everywhere they go.”
Read More: Best Chocolate Desserts in Hoboken
Prato derives from the town where the Bertinis grew up. They decided to name their bakery Prato “to honor” their hometown. Simone moved to the U.S. in 2008, and then Teresa and their daughter followed in 2010. Prato first opened in the West Village and at the time it was called Il Cantuccio. He decided to move the bakery to Jersey City because that’s where they lived.
(Photo credit: Prato Bakery’s Facebook)
The top selling products are the cookies, which are called “cantucci,” that come in a variety of flavors including chocolate, almonds, figs, apricots and prunes. Another top seller is Prato’s schiacciata (the Tuscan name for “focaccia”), which is made with flour, yeast and Tuscan olive oil, and is used as bread for the sandwiches. Prato offers a variety of sandwiches (see below) consisting of curated meats and homemade vegetables, pizza, croissants, coffee, and tea. Teresa noted that they have vegan options and vegetarian options because “we try to be inclusive of everyone.”
Visiting Prato
Prato’s fourth location is now open from 7AM – 4PM Monday through Saturday, and 8AM – 4PM on Sundays.
See More: Vesta Chocolate in Montclair is a Haven for Rich + Chic Desserts
Customers can also shop at the other three locations or online. The online shop sells the cantucci in a variety of sizes, depending on the box size.
^ Cantucci come in a variety of flavors
(Photo credit: Prato Bakery’s Facebook)
“We are famous for the cantucci because they are typical of our town Prato and we make them with different flavors. The brutti buoni are the only gluten-free item we have in the bakery (made with white almonds, hazelnuts, white eggs, and sugar) and they’re very good and people love them,” Teresa said. “We receive orders every day to ship around the U.S., and we also do corporate gifts so during the holidays, the companies ask us for our gift boxes to ship to their clients.”
As for whether there are more plans to open a possible fifth location, Teresa smirked. “Well let’s start to open this and then we will see,” she said.
