Bake-A-Wish is a made-from-scratch bakery that recently opened at 4825 Hopyard Road, Suite F19, in Hacienda. The bakery specializes in custom cakes as well as cupcakes, cookies, and rustic pastries. Head pastry chef Toni Lizzy has trained in bakeries all over the East Bay area and at the Italian Culinary Institute in Calabria, Italy. The bakery also features delicious, homemade waffle sundaes.

"I am in the bar-restaurant business and actually have two restaurants in the same shopping center as this bakery," says Matt DeLima, one of the managing partners of Bake-A-Wish. Those restaurants host birthday parties and other events every week, which meant that DeLima regularly bought cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and other desserts for the events at his other Hacienda restaurants. But DeLima was not fully satisfied with his experience as a customer. "The bakeries I was using just couldn't keep up with me, and I was like, I just need to open up my own bakery."

According to HowThingsWork.com, the top five most popular desserts in America are fudge, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and ice cream. Bake-A-Wish can produce each of those popular desserts and many more. Bake-A-Wish can create extraordinary, custom desserts that elevate any meal.

"Our mission is to be able to accommodate the dessert needs of any party, large or small, for any type of celebration," says DeLima. "Some people need things last-minute. That is a challenge, especially on a busy day when you have traffic and other business. But we meet that challenge whenever we can. One customer called on Monday and needed a pie in two hours. The first four bakeries the customer had called said no. We were number five and we told her yes. My goal is to be number one on the list next time."

Bake-A-Wish also specializes in waffle sundaes. The waffles are baked using made-from-scratch batter that are cooked in front of customers. After the waffles are done, ice cream is added and customers add their own toppings. "The toppings are free," says DeLima. "So you can load it up."

Bake-A-Wish will officially celebrate its grand opening on Thursday, September 20, between 9 am and 9 pm. Hacienda business owners and employees may want to bring business cards when they visit, as the bakery offers its Hacienda neighbors a 15% discount on purchases.

For more information about Bake-A-Wish, please visit www.bakeawishpl.com or www.facebook.com/bake.a.wish.pleasanton.