A dessert shop is opening by the end of the month across from the National Zoo in Woodley Park.
Baked by Yael will sell its signature cakepops, rugelachs, raspberry bars and black-and-white cookies. It will also sell bagels by advance order and possibly on the weekends, owner Yael Krigman says.
Krigman bills the 1,100-square-foot shop as D.C.’s first “cakepoppery.” The shop will seat about 20, with four small tables and a countertop. Krigman expects to employ five initially and then double that amount as she grows.
Though the caterer has an online store, she wanted a bricks-and-mortar site so new customers could see her baked goods in all their glory.
“The online model was very limited. We’re limited to advance orders. Our products are very visual and I wanted people to have the full experience and you can’t have that with just the Internet,” Krigman says.
She said the location was ideal because its proximity to the zoo means she would attract a lot of moms, kids and tourists. It’s also close to her existing customers who mainly reside in upper Northwest D.C. Krigman makes her baked goods in a commercial kitchen and has a pickup location at Weygandt Wines in Cleveland Park.