Ron Cellone Jr. welcomes the challenge when it comes to making a cake for any kind of celebration, from birthdays to anniversaries to Mardi Gras to Cinco De Mayo.
Throw any idea his way -- a beer mug, a golf ball, a hamburger, a pizza or even a photo cake -- and this baker will find a way to create the tasty treat and make it look authentic.
And he tops it off with melt-in-your-mouth butter-cream icing.
"I like to see if I can do something different," Cellone says. "I will try anything the customer wants. They have come up with some interesting requests, and I welcome that. That's why we're here -- to bake what they can't get anywhere else or make on their own."
One look through a photo book of cakes made by Cellone, and it's clear how far he and the bakery he works at -- Graham's Bakery in Mt. Lebanon -- will go. Cellone, 46, along with brother John, 52, and their father, Ron Cellone Sr., 80, have created a sweet family atmosphere inside the store the family has owned since 1964. And that's not easy to do while having to compete against chain bakeries and grocery stores. The trio is up in the middle of the night baking bread, cookies, cakes and donuts while most everyone else is sleeping.
"Our freezer section is second to none," John says. "We offer wheat bread, whole-grain bread and a special holiday rum cake. We go out of our way to do whatever we can to satisfy our customers."
There's so much to choose from inside the display, and not just during the holidays. While you might pay a little more for the goods at Graham's -- a dozen glazed doughnuts is $8.19, an 8-inch cake sells for $19, and a loaf of Italian bread costs $2.19 -- you will be waited on by women and men who have worked there for a long time. They know most of the regular customers by name and are more than willing to take phone calls first thing in the morning to save a special something to be picked up later.
"You have to put out a different product than the (chain) stores, and you have to use quality ingredients, which we do," Ron Jr. says. "You have to keep everything fresh. We try not to have things left over for the following day."
The Cellone men always are thinking of new ways to attract customers. During the Stanley Cup playoffs, Graham's offered a large chocolate chip cookie with a Penguin strangling an octopus. All of the City of Champions sports teams have something made specifically for them at Graham's. And the workers wear aprons signifying whatever the current holiday is.
Everyday treats include delicious gobs, which are two round pieces of chocolate cake with cream filling. Graham's adds a thin layer of dark chocolate outside instead of the standard confectioners' sugar. John Cellone says customers often ask for gobs to be packed to go on airplane or other trips. Other favorites are pecan rolls, pepperoni rolls and cream-filled cupcakes. Or try an apple pie on Friday pie days. No sugar-added pies also are available.
"We try to have something for everyone," John says. "We hope the fact we have fresh baked goods and try to go above and beyond our competition will keep customers choosing us.
"We appreciate everyone who works here, because they are as committed to the business as we are. We really enjoy what we do and enjoy making the customer happy and offering them fresh quality baked goods."
Additional Information:
Graham's Bakery
Where: 300 Mt. Lebanon Blvd., Mt. Lebanon
Hours: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays.
Details: 412-561-8600
