A new bakery is sweetening up
Squirrel Hill’s bustling commercial district. Located in the heart of the thriving East End neighborhood at 2119 Murray Ave.,
Sweet Tammy’s opened its doors to lovers of homemade treats Dec. 1.
Owned and operated by husband-wife team Daniel and Tamara Berkowitz, the 1,100-square-foot kosher bakery features seating for 10, and French doors that provide a glimpse into the kitchen’s magic. Moving “sight unseen” to Pittsburgh after helping run the U.S. Pavilion at the 2005 Worlds Fair in Nagoya, Japan, the pair jumped at the chance to open their own bakery when Simple Treat closed.
Originally from Venezuela, Tammy brings years of professional catering and event planning expertise to the venture. “Tammy’s pursuing a life passion. She was always standing at the apron strings of her mother— it’s literally baked into her DNA,” says Daniel Berkowitz, 31, who calls Sweet Tammy’s “nouveau Victorian—like an old Viennese pastry shop.”
Fans rave about Tammy’s chocolate chip cookies and caramel blondies. Everything—from éclairs to custom-designed wedding cakes—is made daily from scratch. What the bakery doesn’t sell goes to
Squirrel Hill’s Food Pantry. “We call ourselves mom-and-pop 2.0. We firmly believe you can run your own operation, do quite well and live one block from your house. It’s the defendable model for a recession,” adds Berkowitz, an Atlanta native. “Pittsburgh is a great city for locally owned. People are loyal to the citizens of their city.”
Sweet Tammy’s also carries bulk candies,
La Prima coffee and Brooklyn-baked Challah. The Berkowitz’s, who worked with
Desmone & Associates on the interior layout, hope to expand their Internet-based business and develop a supermarket line.
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Jennifer BaronSource: Daniel Berkowitz, Sweet Tammy's
Photograph copyright Brian Cohen