Charlie's Bakery opens in Northport

Over the last decade, many of Long Island’s finest bakeries have followed a similar trajectory: Establish the brand at a farmers market, build a customer base through social media and, finally, open a brick-and-mortar location. At least that was the path trod by Duck Island in Huntington (2015), Hometown Bake Shop in Centerport (2016), Blacksmith’s in Long Beach (2017) and Flourbud in East Moriches (2023).

But Charlie’s Bakery in Northport seems to have sprung, fully grown, from the head of Casey Sandler. Opened in February, it instantly vaults into the top tier of Long Island bakeries. (Who’s the eponymous Charlie? It’s Sandler’s Brussels Griffon pooch.)

The location could not be more modest, wedged between a no-name deli and a music school in a strip mall whose anchor is the Fort Salonga IGA. But walk into Charlie’s and you’re transported to a chic cafe that would be at home in Paris — or, at least, Greenwich Village. The walls and coffered ceiling are a soft sage green brightened with accents of brass, Wedgewood blue and, behind the upholstered booths, William Morris print. Sandler’s mother, Muriel, contributed botanical paintings in three media — oil, watercolor and Japanese ink.

But why am I going on about the decor? The star attractions here are the pastries: plump cinnamon buns with brown-butter-cream-cheese glaze that skew crispy rather than gooey; Danish ($6.50) stuffed with mixed berries ... or bacon, egg and cheese; Linzer cookies ($6) whose wafers are made with Sandler’s own hand-ground hazelnuts and whose jam he makes with four fruits. The carrot cake ($22 for a 4-inch slab) has both pecan meal and toasted chopped pecans in the batter and the cream cheese frosting gets a toasty assist from browned butter. 

He and bakers Jill Sog and Erica Varley have a thing for opera cake ($11), an Old World confection whose layers consist of coffee-soaked almond sponge, coffee buttercream, chocolate ganache and chocolate glaze. Their classic version also inspired one with matcha cake and strawberry mousse, another with Earl Gray-scented cake sandwiching tiers of blueberry and lemon mousse. Citrus is a theme that runs right through Key lime tarts ($6) and meringue-squiggled lemon bars ($7) whose curd hides a thin layer of raspberry jam.

There are cookies and muffins and cupcakes and quiches and, deep breath, sourdough country loaves ($10), baguettes ($9) and croissants ($4.50), all of which rely on a sourdough starter Sandler first began tending about a decade ago. When he graduated from Manhattan’s French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in 2007, his focus was on savory cooking, not baking. In the intervening years he worked in restaurants and as a private chef as well selling real estate.

"I’m really a self-taught baker," he said, crediting the cookbooks "Dessert Person" by Claire Saffitz (Clarkson Potter, 2020) and "The Perfect Loaf" by Maurizio Leo (Clarkson Potter, 2022) as his best teachers. Another important influence is his mother, whose family’s Belgian recipes will come more to the fore as he introduces more savory items to the cafe menu.

It was his mother who brought him to this corner of Long Island. During the pandemic he left the city to stay with her and wound up buying a house in Northport. That’s when a new career path presented itself. "I always wanted to open a cafe," he said, "and this neighborhood demanded a coffee shop with desserts. Right here we only have a 7-Eleven — with Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts about 10 minutes away."

Sandler tries to make everything in house (one notable failure: sprinkles for the homemade ice cream), but roasting coffee beans was beyond him. After tasting around the Island, he settled on Mongo of Syosset. The pulling, icing, foaming and dripping of coffee are the purview of Shayna Smith, who also runs the "front of the house" counter service and 14 seats.

Charlie’s Bakery, 10 Fort Salonga Road, Northport, 631-684-2141, charliethebaker.com. Open Tuesday 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Wednesday to Friday 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Monday.