‘Cake Boss’ Buddy Valastro closes his Carlo’s Bake Shop location in Philadelphia

The Center City Philadelphia location of Carlo’s Bake Shop, fronted by celebrity baker Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss fame, closed last month after nearly nine years.

The space, at the corner of 21st and Walnut Streets, is now listed for lease on the website of MPN Realty, whose broker, Nadia Bilynsky, said the former tenant would consider selling the equipment separately. The asking rent is about $12,600 a month.

The region’s other Carlo’s Bake Shop location, in Marlton, remains open.

A Carlo’s spokesperson told The Inquirer that the company decided not to renew the lease. “A key shift in our business model over the past couple of years has been a strong pivot towards e-commerce,” the spokesperson said.

Valastro, whose big personality and zany family matched the over-the-top occasion cakes, hit the cable scene in 2009 with Cake Boss. The reality series, which stopped producing original episodes in 2020, inspired the spin-offs Next Great Baker, Kitchen Boss, Bake You Rich, and Bakery Boss.

On Monday, the website TMZ reported the closing of the Carlo’s location in Santa Monica, Calif., as the company moved to online orders only. TMZ also said Carlo’s would open a shop in New York City’s Times Square this month.

Valastro, 46, took over his family bakery — established in 1910 in Hoboken, N.J. — when he was 17 after the death of his father, who had taken it over in 1964. He has grown the empire through four books, and expanded into the savory side of the business in 2013 with Buddy V’s Ristorante at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

In 2020, Valastro opened PizzaCake at Harrah’s Las Vegas followed by the Boss Cafe by Buddy Valastro and Buddy’s Jersey Eats at the LINQ Hotel + Experience in Las Vegas.