New Madame Butterfly Cafe Given OK by Village Board

Cupcakes away! Madame Butterfly Cakes will be picking up and moving out of their Fire Island Avenue storefront to a larger shop further south near the docks at the end of the road next year.

The Babylon Village Board unanimously approved the business' planned move to 450 Fire Island Avenue, next to Fire Island Shave Ice.

Owner Micheline Cummings told the board during a public hearing in November her custom cake business has outgrown its space at 22 Fire Island Avenue, and that the move will help them become more successful.

"We want to open a bakery cafe, expanding on what we do currently," Cummings told the board during a public hearing on Tuesday. "Part of it will be kitchen and retail, and the rest is a customer service area where they can sit... have coffee and our bakery items."

The current space at 22 Fire Island Avenue is only 300 square feet and does not allow for a space to dine inside. The new location, at 450 Fire Island Avenue, will have over 2,000 square feet, allowing for many more options – including a glass preparation area.

"We want transparency of the current space – the kitchen will be windowed so customers can watch us while we're working," Cummings said, then laughed as she added: "We're going for a Willy Wonka-type of look."

Cummings said the business currently provided baked goods to Whole Foods Supermarket and that the new space will allow them to further that business to more markets.

The new space will also allow for the bakery to hold classes in its less-used finishing room, where cakes are decorated. Cummings told the board that not everything taught would be food related, but the business would not be renting the space out.

No exact date was given for the business' move, but Cummings told the board she expected the new spot to be up-and-running by Spring 2014.