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New Bergen Baker Once Traded Treats For Admin Assistance

CLIFFSIDE PARK, N.J. — Ana Reyes of Cliffside Park nearly a decade ago was working as a school administrator in Wisconsin, baking brownies for her students in exchange for help with paperwork.

Ana Reyes of Cliffside Park and her husband, left, with cinnamon rolls on the right that she says "should only be photographed up close."

Ana Reyes of Cliffside Park and her husband, left, with cinnamon rolls on the right that she says "should only be photographed up close."

Photo Credit: Ana Reyes
Love, Ana is known for custom and colorful sugar cookies.

Love, Ana is known for custom and colorful sugar cookies.

Photo Credit: Ana Reyes
Love, Ana is coming soon to Cliffside Park.

Love, Ana is coming soon to Cliffside Park.

Photo Credit: Ana Reyes

It wasn't until one of them suggested she follow her heart to the kitchen that she took the leap of faith and bought herself one-way ticket to New York.

She's glad she did because Reyes, 32, is preparing to open her first bakery —Love, Ana — on Palisade Avenue.

"I've been everywhere and done every job you could possibly think of," said Reyes, a Puerto Rico native. "It took me a while to figure things out."

After graduating from the French Culinary Institute in SoHo, and then meeting the love of her life, Reyes got a business plan together.

It started with renting out commercial kitchens and making customized orders for clients. But that become too expenseive. 

"It was getting too busy and it didn't make sense to spend $25 an hour on a place," the baker said. "I did my research and it made sense to get my own space."

Everything from Love, Ana is custom-made for clients.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT'S HEATING UP AT LOVE, ANA.

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