Magnolia Bakery’s Philadelphia-area debut will bring two locally operated shops, both making baked goods on-site. The first is scheduled to open Nov. 17 at Centerton Square, 10 Centerton Rd., in Mount Laurel; a second is planned for spring 2027 at 204 S. 17th St. near Rittenhouse Square, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The franchise partners are Jake Klein and John Candela. Klein previously operated four Jersey Mike’s franchises in the Pittsburgh area, while Candela worked in finance at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The partners hired Cathie Pastor to lead production. Pastor taught pastry and culinary arts at Mercy Vocational High School for 15 years and worked as a pastry chef at Philadelphia’s Union League for a decade, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pastor and the partners trained for more than a month at Magnolia’s New York bakeries.
Why Mount Laurel Comes First
Klein is relocating to Cherry Hill as the project gets underway, while Candela has relocated to Philadelphia. Klein said the Mount Laurel site appealed to him for its accessibility and proximity to Moorestown, Marlton, and Cherry Hill, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The Mount Laurel shop measures about 1,200 square feet and occupies a former Deka Lash salon in Centerton Square. The Rittenhouse Square location, by contrast, is roughly 1,150 square feet with limited seating planned. That storefront has a layered food history of its own: it was briefly home to Chip City Cookies before that company folded, but for more than a decade before that it housed Miel Patisserie.
A Brand Built on Cupcakes, Now Chasing Franchise Growth
Magnolia Bakery was founded in Manhattan's West Village in 1996 and built its name on cupcakes, banana pudding, and other classic American desserts. The brand's growth has accelerated since it began offering U.S. franchises in 2025, part of a broader strategy that has also included packaged grocery products, per a report from NJBIZ. Magnolia announced plans earlier this year to franchise nationwide for the first time in 30 years, according to the Courier Journal, with that domestic push following international franchising the company had offered since 2011, per njbiz.com.
That expansion has already touched several other markets. A Salt Lake City location opened in June, with another on the way there, and Magnolia opened a NuLu location in Louisville, Kentucky, in August inside The Zen luxury apartment building, according to the same Courier Journal report. Separately, njbiz.com reports Magnolia is targeting at least a half-dozen additional sites in North Jersey's Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, and Passaic counties through deals with two franchisees, and the company offers both a full-production flagship format and a smaller no-bake concept, with initial investment costs ranging from $696,000 to $1.2 million for flagships and $500,000 to $702,000 for no-bake locations.
Franchise growth and Center City storefronts
The International Franchise Association’s 2025 Economic Outlook projected that U.S. franchising would add more than 20,000 units that year, according to the International Franchise Association. That is an industry-wide forecast, not a food-service-specific figure or an explanation of Magnolia’s Philadelphia plans. For Center City retail, the Center City District’s spring 2026 survey reported that Walnut Street storefront occupancy had risen to 87.5%, describing the corridor as its top performer. That corridor-wide measure does not establish occupancy or vacancy at the planned Magnolia storefront specifically, according to Center City District.
More Philly-Area Sites Possible, But Nothing Signed Yet
Klein and Candela are exploring additional locations along the Main Line, including Ardmore, Wayne, and Radnor, as well as in Cherry Hill and Haddonfield — but no additional leases have been signed, the Inquirer reports. Klein said the two intend to be hands-on operators rather than passive investors, with plans to be frequently present in the stores themselves.
For Candela, the move away from finance carried personal meaning beyond the business opportunity. He said leaving the industry appealed to him partly for entrepreneurial reasons, and partly because he wanted to sell something that could brighten someone's day. Klein, for his part, described himself as addicted to Magnolia's banana pudding, and said he and his wife have worked through much of the company's recipe book at home, including that very dessert — he advises letting it set in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, ideally overnight. He also makes a scratch chocolate chip-walnut cookie that he says his wife loves.
