Ciro’s Pastry Shop Has a New, Longtime Baker Behind the Counter

By Katie McFadden

Ciro’s Pastry Shop has passed the cannoli. Going on its 40th year, Belle Harbor’s beloved Italian bakery, is no longer under longtime owner Maria Bonadonna, but don’t fret. The dough is in the hands of someone with just as much experience—John “Da Baker” Malinconico of La Torre in Howard Beach.

Some may have gone to Pasticceria La Torre in Howard Beach for their award-winning rainbow cookies, cannolis, cheesecake, St. Joseph’s pastries and more, but now all of those same great products can be found right at Ciro’s on Beach 129th Street after Malinconico bought the business in October. But Malinconico says for the most part, Ciro’s which turns 40 this year, is already a great place. “The only thing that really changed is the ownership,” he said.

And the owner is someone who knows what he’s doing. Malinconico and his family immigrated to the U.S. from Naples, Italy in 1981. His father, Biagio, became a master baker in Italy, learning the trade in a town called La Torre. When they came to the U.S., he opened a bakery of his own in 1986 and named it after the place where he learned to bake—La Torre.

And John learned from the master. “I learned from my dad. I still wish that I’ll become half of the baker that he is. When you see what he does and how he does it with such ease and muscle memory, it’s just amazing to see that artistry,” Malinconico said. But John Da Baker does know the secrets. “Every recipe is my dad’s. I may come up with different ideas based on his recipes, but there’s no tweaking. The recipes are perfect. Every time someone asks me, ‘how do you make your rainbow cookies or cannoli cream,’ I tease and say I’ll tell you, but then I have to kill you,” Malinconico said. They’re recipes he’s perfected since learning from his father at a young age. “I wasn’t allowed to stay home. Ever since I was 10, I was in the bakery every day in the summer,” he said. And when his dad was ready to retire, John bought the business from him in 2006 and has kept customers coming. The Howard Beach staple celebrates its 39th anniversary on Thursday, April 17.

As his twin daughters attend private high school, Malinconico was thinking of ways to help pay for it. Why not take on another business? And buying Ciro’s was something in the works for many years. “Maria remembers my dad and we have a lot of the same wholesalers, so when a friend mentioned to me that she was interested in selling, I approached her about it maybe 15 years ago, but the number wasn’t realistic and she didn’t have to leave at the time,” Malinconico said. “But last year, she was considering it more seriously as her parents were ailing and she wanted to spend more time with them, so she threw out the idea of selling again and my friend called me saying, ‘It’s not too far from Howard Beach and I know you can do this. It’s a great neighborhood and Rockaway would love you.’ I already know many people from Rockaway because when they’re not going to Ciro’s, they come to me in Howard Beach. Maria remembered me and we got to talking and we got the deal done.”

Malinconico has been operating Ciro’s for six months, and for the most part, besides people seeing a new face behind the counter, not much has changed. “This place has been here for 40 years, so obviously they’re doing something right. The same staff is here. I’m not changing the look as it’s cute and was just redone after Hurricane Sandy. It already has the customers. I’m just trying to make it a better experience for them. We’ve added a few new items and might decorate items a little differently, making them more vibrant, but not much is changing,” he said. Malinconico has introduced his family’s recipes for the rainbow cookies, cannoli cream and cheesecakes at Ciro’s to make them even better, and he’s brought in new coffee and even homemade ice cream cakes, but the staples are staying the same.

“The number one seller here is the Italian cookies with the sprinkles. They taste great, they’re so colorful and there’s so many different flavors and kids are always dragging their parents in here to get some. Rockaway loves their cookies,” Malinconico says. And Ciro’s remains a top spot to grab a coffee and Danish in the morning. But he hopes to draw even more of a night-crowd in. “We want to get gelato in here and make this a nighttime spot where people leave Pico or Jamesons and come by and we’re open for them,” he said.

But in the meantime, with Easter coming this Sunday, Ciro’s is focused on the busy Easter weekend ahead. “Because of the holidays, we have St. Joseph’s pastries up until Easter and number one for Easter is cakes. Our baker makes pretty, springy-looking cakes with flowers or shaped like eggs,” Malinconico said. “Then, we sell a lot of pastries and pies—fruit pies, apple, blueberry, grain pies and meat pies for Easter. And cookies. Tons and tons of cookie trays and baskets.”

And for those who may need a last-minute dessert for the Easter holiday, Ciro’s will be open on Easter Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. “There’s not a day I close, ever,” Malinconico said. “But we’ll close early so our staff can have dinner with their families.” Normally, Ciro’s is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, but as the weather warms up, they’ll start staying open until 9 p.m. for the dinner crowd to grab a sweet treat for dessert.

If you haven’t met him yet, John says stop by and say hello. “I come from a really close family, I love kids, I love people, knowing people’s names. I love when people wave and say ‘hey, John!’ and I love how Rockaway is a small, tightknit community,” Malinconico said. “I’m happy to be here and hopefully, I can be here for another 40 years!”

Ciro’s Pastry Shop is located at 415 Beach 129th Street. For orders, call 718-634-7332. For mouthwatering photos and more, follow @cirospastryshop on Instagram.