On Saturday, July 28, A&J held a vegan showcase and sampling event as a means of introducing their newest vegan items to the public. For several hours, the staff welcomed customers and answered questions. The bakery is owned by Joe and Amy Hitzemann and just celebrated its 11th year anniversary last week. It now features a dedicated vegan freezer where customers can find anything from ice cream to pies and pizza dough, with a variety of other non-frozen vegan options located throughout the store on the shelves and in the large, glass bakery cases.

“If I hadn’t been born, this bakery wouldn’t be here,” said son Kamden Hitxemann, age 12, who was diagnosed with a peanut allergy as a baby. He was on hand to help hand out samples of pizza, brownies, and blondies for tasting.

Customers could sample several varieties vegan ice cream, which were also gluten free and nut free, thanks to the investment in an ice cream machine.

”We’re going to keep four basic flavors on hand always and try to add in one seasonal one over time,” said Joe.

The bakery has always offered nut free and gluten free products, and every product sold there clearly lists every ingredient as well as any allergens present, in bold red print. A&J Bakery and has recently expanded to vegan in order to meet the needs of those with additional needs, such as Amy herself, who was diagnosed with an egg allergy three years ago, in addition to her gluten allergy.

“So many people who came today for the vegan showcase didn’t even know we were here,” said Joe. “There are so many people out there with allergies and they are looking for a place to meet their needs.”

They certainly can find it at A&J Bakery, where the shelves are stocked with fresh-baked items like breads, biscotti, cookies, cinnamon buns and Danish, in addition to frozen items like bagels, pizza, pasta, pies, and cakes. The A&J bakers are already hard at work making the allergen-friendly gingerbread kits for the upcoming holiday season, a most popular item, according to Amy.

On any given day, customers can also find such seasonal items as allergy-friendly candy corn for Halloween, zeppole for St. Joseph’s Day, graham crackers for summertime Smores, and bakery pizza strips for every season.

”We’ve got all the allergens covered,” said Joe.

Much of the production is done at the A&J production facility in Warwick and all of the company’s wholesale business is done from there as well.

“We stock items at Dave’s Markets, Belmont, some Federal Hill restaurants, Randall’s in Ludlow, and we are exploring expanding into other states as well,” he said.

Currently, A&J Bakery is participating in the Sweetest Bakery in America contest, and customers can vote daily. To vote, visit sweetestbakeryinamerica.com. To visit A&J Bakery on social media visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/Aandjbakery. Visit the bakery in person at 1458 Park Avenue, Cranston, or call 401-228-8696 with questions about their allergy-friendly products.