PARK MANOR — It must have been some sweet tooth to have compelled thieves to break into Brown Sugar Bakery early Wednesday morning and steal only the caramel cakes and cupcakes.
Owner Stephanie Hart said Thursday that someone broke through the plate-glass window in the front of the bakery at 328 E. 75th St., shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday and walked out with 48 cakes, cupcakes and brownies.
“There was nothing caramel left in the store,” Hart said. “As the day went on I became more and more flabbergasted.”
Hart said the thieves passed over not only other valuables in the store, but also any baked good that wasn’t caramel.
Strawberry, chocolate and other cakes were left untouched in the same bakery cases, she said.
“You don’t expect people to take cakes, you expect them to take valuables,” Hart said. “Maybe they saw all those cakes and it was too much.”
Nearby business owners said they’ve been hearing from their customers since the burglary that the theft might have been about more than satisfying the burglars own sweet tooth.
Al King, owner of King Tire and Radiator Service at 400 E. 75th St., said his customers on Wednesday told him the thieves were out all night on 75th Street selling full cakes for $10 less than a block from Brown Sugar Bakery.
“Everybody knows how good her cakes are, they were buying it like crazy like she was still open,” King said his customers told him.
He said he suspected the customers were likely people leaving two nearby lounges early on Wednesday morning.
If true, sales wrapped up by 6 a.m. Wednesday, when Hart said she arrived at the bakery to inspect the damage.
“They didn’t tear up anything,” Hart said. “Nothing was ramshackle.”
King said he was advising Hart to get added security at the bakery now that the thieves have discovered even stolen cake will sell.
“They’re coming back for the strawberry and chocolate, it’s not about the caramel,” King said.
Hart said she was adding a security system and cameras to the store, partially for the added security and partially to satisfy her curiosity over who was so enamored with her baked goods they were willing to break through a window to get it.
“That’s how I feel now, that someone really likes me in an inappropriate way,” Hart said.
Police said no arrests have been made in connection to the burglary.
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