Long Island has a new destination for gluten free goodies.
The Gluten Free Treat Shop in Massapequa is now open — offering homemade, celiac-safe baked goods.
How it happened
“I like to say this is the place where all your gluten free dreams come true,” said owner Jenna Vanacore, who turned her personal diagnosis into a passion for creating sweets everyone can enjoy.
“I wasn’t diagnosed with celiac disease until my mid-20s, so I know what eating regular desserts tastes like,” she told Greater Long Island. “I remember going to the diner as a kid and getting a giant sprinkle cookie, so now I make giant sprinkle cookies.”
Vanacore says the entire menu is safe for people who can’t eat gluten, and a lot of it is based on her own cravings.
“We had black and white cookies today, which is probably the thing I miss the most,” said Vanacore, with a smile on her face. “I make rainbow cookies, honeyballs, cupcakes — and right now I’m trying to find the perfect recipe for bagels.”
There’s also paint-your-own cookie kits for kids, and during the holiday season she’ll have do-it-yourself gingerbread houses.
Before baking full-time, Vanacore worked in sales and marketing.
She began her business with an Etsy shop and by setting up at local farmers markets, before exploding in popularity.
That’s when she decided to move the business out of her home kitchen and into something a little bigger, at 518 Broadway.
Ready for lunch
“We had such a great opening weekend these last two days, the community has been amazing, we sold out of just about everything,” Vanacore said. “And it’s not just people who are gluten free that are coming in and saying how much they love our stuff.”
“I’m the CTO of the business, the chief tasting officer,” joked her fiance, Alex Stanco. “I can eat gluten all day long, but her stuff is amazing.
“That ooey-gooey taste makes me forget that it’s actually gluten free.”
For now, The Gluten Free Treat Shop is open Fridays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and weekends from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The plan, Vanacore says, is to add more days before the new year — if all goes well.
