Prioritized Pastries, LLC — Restaurant in Maplewood

Dear, Prioritized Pastries, LLC, you get NO STARS from me...I wish there were other less joyful emojis to select like the #2! But here is what prospective patrons get: an eyeful (reading) of the truth and "PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR YOUR MONEY WITH PRIORITIZED PASTRIES, LLC!" Their pastries ARE NOT worth the money, NOT WORTH you having to chase them down for products (never in person, no response to emails, or calls once they take your money), and, plus, the pastries I did receive where TASTELESS, HARD, DRY, and TERRIBLE, and I feel the ultra-mini cupcakes size was covered up by tons of overly sweet icing to hide they were below the typical "mini" like you see elsewhere. In November, I began a dialogue with the business manager to order an assortment of pastries for a total count of 250. This dialogue went for well over a week and was very positive and helpful at first. I was so thrilled about this place because it is a small business, seems to support diversity and community, and accommodates multiple dietary restrictions. Well, let me tell you, after payment was was received (well in advance mind you) and the scheduled date arrived, I had no product as promised! Here is a rundown:

The owner, business manager, and I agreed on the date and time for delivery (which I appreciate). They do not really do delivery but I paid EXTRA and also paid EXTRA to have the pastries portioned out on trays (sadly, no promised trays just plastic top; see photo). The day of my event, LESS THAN an HOUR (under 45min to be exact) before Prioritized Pastries, LLC's promised delivery time of 250 pastries, I received a call and text stating "The baker realized there was a nut allergy on the order but the lemon bars are on an almond crust." and could this pastry be substituted. Prioritized Pastries, LLC, per your website “Peanut free facility" reflects and I also communicated all the restrictions (nut, dairy, vegan, gluten, Halal) a week and a half prior. Where is the disconnect? I responded to scrap the lemon bar replacement altogether because of time and the number of event participants. *I was told Prioritized Pastries, LLC would be there as soon as they can (the timeframe was between 10:00am and 11:00am). At 11:32am, still no pastries, so I contacted Prioritized Pastries, LLC via phone. I spoke with the owner regarding an ETA of delivery and she was quite sharp and not the positive energy she once displayed when (1) I paid over $800 (2) Paid extra for delivery AND for portioned trays (3) YOU messed up the pastry order! I was told that the delivery "should be there by now"....well, owner, it is not Obviously! The owner had an energy as if I were getting on her nerves asking questions. I feel like she hung up on me purposefully because she knew I had no delivery and her business was at fault for such horrible customer service product output. Ashamed much? *The delivery came well after 12pm and was received by a volunteer watching the door. I got a call that Prioritized Pastries, LLC had finally arrived but before I could get a chance to speak with the driver regarding the order, she had already driven off...and pretty fast I was told. Hmmm...wonder why? I was informed by my volunteer that it took so long because the venue could not be found. Not true...days before the scheduled delivery date, I provided the exact address, GPS, and step by step driving instructions, landmarks, etc. for Prioritized Pastries, LLC via email and received a response "Thank you (and Google :)) so much for all your help with the directions!" Does this seem like I may have left Prioritized Pastries, LLC in the dark with directions?

All in all, I DO NOT and WILL NEVER TRUST Prioritized Pastries, LLC again and will NEVER recommend this business. Since November, I have tried calling their number, texting, and emailing several times to discuss thoughts and suggestions on how Prioritized Pastries, LLC and I can come to a happy medium to remedy the lack of nut-free pastry, embarrassing extremely late delivery, and not all of the pastries...

I had given up on birthday cake due to very bad bloating. I have gotten accustomed to just watching everyone else eat cake at celebrations. This year I turned 40 and it just seemed wrong to not have a cake even if all I ate was a razor thin slice and paid a price for it. I ordered the cake and picked it up from Alex. I told her she IS THE gluten free and vegan cake maker in STL and she told me it is her mission for everyone to be able to have cake. I almost teared up when she said this - I have been so isolated from so many things due to dietary restrictions. It is so incredible to have someone care so much and work so hard to make food so I can be included - any food I can eat is good, but her cakes are DELICIOUS. PUNCH LINE: Alex's cake didn't make me bloated! This is a small miracle. I LOVED her cake and I felt great after eating it. I could hug Alex right now!

I didn't want a super sugary cake and she recommended her pumpkin cake. Oh my god it was good! A 6 in, 3 layer cake - it looked small but it was so dense and thick it lasted 3 people over a week... LOL. It was the weight of a bowling ball. My parents and husband are not restricted with their diets and they loved the cake. I was prepared to have cake I could eat, but I was not prepared for everyone to also love it and not just put up with it. The cherry on top! :-D

Top Favorite Things to Note: Alex's flour doesn't have almonds in it like the other bakeries in town (I am allergic to almonds). You can request soy-free icing (she makes it with coconut instead and it just requires more vigilant refrigeration). The icing was SO GOOD. At the time of this review, Alex takes a 7 day advance custom cake order (especially if you request soy-free icing) and you can pick it up at the shop between 10 am & 2 pm. Note: this is a two-woman show and so you coordinate a time to pick it up - there is no store front with extra staff (like some of the other review photos seem to show - the windows are papered over right now and they bring the cake out to your car when you pull up). Leave a few days to coordinate on cake type and size, etc via email or phone for the easiest experience. They are super helpful with questions and suggestions if you don't know what to do. She said she is working on a more detailed website but until then you can just work out flavors, icings, etc. She can do pretty much anything you want. She very graciously accommodated my husband's request for way more text than any sane person would think might fit on a cake. (see photo. Thank you, Alex 😉) You can sample her cosmic brownies (see photo), cookie cakes, muffins, cupcakes, breads, etc. at Fresh Thyme in the Foundry location in St. Louis. At the time of this writing she delivers on Fridays in the early afternoon and either Sunday or Monday. So check those days/times for fresh stock. My parents and I loved the cosmic brownies! They are mildly sweet with an amazing chocolate flavor. We'll be trying the cookie cake next.

Alex - thank you for my wonderful 40th birthday pumpkin cake! Everyone raved about it! I will be getting more cake from you when I am town!!!

One word “Disappointed”

I ordered a custom cake for my wedding, which was a two layer cake that was heart shaped. The communication from the owner for ordering the cake, was simply nonexistent. I had to follow up many times, with trying to get an invoice and just wanted to confirm my cake was going to be ready for my wedding day. With no responses, I was desperate to ensure I had a cake for my wedding, so I reached out on Instagram DMs, no answer. Then finally commented on a post and finally got an answer, weeks later.

My wedding planner went to pick up the cake on the day of my wedding, the cake wasn’t ready. Which was totally fine because it was finished and picked up later in enough time. However, I was severely disappointed with how the cake turned out. The cake was a heart shaped cake, lemon with lemon filling, decorative icing all one color. The cake was dry, hardly any lemon filling, there was a godly awful amount of frosting which led to the cake/frosting to collapse. Flavor was just honestly bland and not good. Seemed like it was just a rushed order and there wasn’t any care put into it. Even the piping of the frosting was disappointing and not pretty, as I was hoping. Thankfully not the whole cake collapsed, so my planner hid the collapsed part from guests and photos. Was super excited to order from here as it’s local and I’m vegan, but I’ve made better cakes at home and could save $90. I attached photos of the cake, not sure if you can see the collapsed frosting in the photo. Overall, I was severely disappointed and will not be spending anymore money at...