CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Nothing says Christmas quite like homemade Christmas cookies. But with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, not everyone has time to be in the kitchen.
That's all right for Toni and Frank Illuzi, owners of Custom Cakes & Cookies on Bedford Street in Johnstown. The holiday season is their busiest time of year.
"I just enjoy doing it. It makes people happy, and that's what I do," said Toni Illuzi.
The Illuzis have been serving up happiness for 25 years. Before the couple bought their bakery 20 years ago, they started their baking business in their basement. Frank Illuzi said he knew he always wanted to own a business, and his wife's talent and love for baking sparked the idea.
"Since she was such a great baker, it was one of the reasons I married her and such a good cook. We're both Italian, and it's just a matter of loving what you do and who you're with," said Frank Illuzi.
Custom Cakes & Cookies offers more than 30 types of cookies, all baked from scratch from family recipes. They also focus on traditional Italian cookies, like totos and pizelles. Baking happens around the clock as soon as the holiday season hits.
Their holiday cookie trays are a popular item that many order in advance for Christmas.
"It's nothing but cookies, cookie trays for gifts, cookie trays for regular customers coming in. It's nonstop the whole month of December," said Toni Illuzi.
They estimate they make around 100,000 cookies during the holidays, but the Illuzis don't mind the long hours and the rush of orders coming in.
"We don't mind the hours at all, because it's all so rewarding. When we see the smile on peoples' face when they come through the door or when I deliver them to their house, the smile just pays for it all right there. It's priceless." said Frank Illuzi.
Those smiles come back into the little bakery year after year. One customer, Bobbi Kisko, said she has been coming to Custom Cakes & Cookies for over a decade.
"I've tried cookies from Giant Eagle, chain stores, grocery stores. It's not the same as having someone put the time into them, instead of having them shipped in," said Kisko.
The leftover cookies don't go to waste. They're donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the soup kitchen in downtown Johnstown, where they can be enjoyed.
The Illuzis also started hosting cake decorating parties at their bakery and will begin to hold them again in January.
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