Plot Synopsis

This reality show follows CAKE BOSS's Buddy Valastro, as he transforms struggling bakeries by renovating the interior, introducing a new menu, and training employees at each business. At each bakery, Buddy spends time helping families in crisis, both personally and professionally, by evaluating their every ingredient and technique, and challenging them to make big changes all in an effort to transform their crumbling dreams into a sweet success. In the 60-minute pilot, Buddy visited the Friendly Bake Shop, an Italian-American bakery in Frankfort, NY, run by three generations of the Viti family. Open for 52 years, Friendly Bake Shop suffers from outdated processes, broken equipment, and an old-school philosophy on running a small-town business. TLC aired the pilot of this series on Monday, May 27, 2013 at 10pm ET/PT. When the program returned for its official series premiere on Monday, December 2, 2013 at 9pm ET/PT on TLC, Buddy visited the borough of Queens to help Violet's Bake Shop, a Hungarian Jewish Bakery in Fresh Meadows, NY, where Violet's son Michael quit his job to come help at her bakery but he is not allowed to make any changes. Later in the first season, Buddy visited these bakeries: Baked Euphoria Cakes Pastries (Endwell, NY); Bing's Bakery (Newark, DE); Drew's Pastry Place (Houston, TX); Grandma Millie's Bakery (Johnstown, NY); Kristi G's Cupcakes and More (Lewisville, TX); Laura's Sweets Specialty Bake Shoppe (Sugarloaf, NY); Lidia's Bakeshop & Cafe (Dobbs Ferry, NY); Not Jus' Donuts Bakery (Houston, TX); Oteri's Italian Bakery (Philadelphia, PA); Pastry is Art (North Miami, FL); Prince Street Cafe and Bakery (Bedford, MA); and Violet's Bake Shop (Queens, NY). After using the title BAKERY BOSS for Season 1, this series returned for its second season on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT on TLC with a new title, BUDDY'S BAKERY RESCUE, but with Buddy still transforming struggling bakeries. In the Season 2 premiere, Buddy travels to Delaware Bing's Bakery, which has been in business since 1946 and where owner Tom keeps hundreds of items on the menu, both good and bad, even as they continue to lose money.
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On Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT, TLC aired the Season 2 finale of BUDDY'S BAKERY RESCUE, featuring the Prince Street Cafe & Bakery. Dana opened her bakery as a tribute to her Grandfather's bakery in the North End of Boston, where she spent many of her early days, but Buddy finds the tribute lacking in both taste and consistency.