After 49 years, Tiffany’s Bakery expands outside of Center City to open a shop in Manayunk
The Doyo — the signature baked doughnut — has made the move to Main Street in Manayunk as Tiffany's Bakery expands.
After nearly a half-century, Tiffany’s Bakery has made its first move beyond Center City, bringing its cakes and pastries to Main Street in Manayunk — with a third generation already helping shape the family business.
The tiny shop opened last week at 4254 Main St., most recently Main Street Market. For owner Frank Pantazopoulos, the opening represents both expansion and succession.
This August will mark 49 years since his parents, Tony and Kathy Pantazopoulos, opened Tiffany’s on the lower level of the old Gallery mall. In the 1970s, Tony Pantazopoulos was a carpet buyer at Sears, Roebuck & Co.’s corporate headquarters in Chicago, but saw opportunity in his hometown as Philadelphia was preparing to unveil what was billed as the nation’s first urban shopping mall. Tiffany’s, which opened on Aug. 11, 1977, became the Gallery’s longest-tenured tenant. There was a Suburban Station location, though it closed during the pandemic.
Frank Pantazopoulos, 57, grew up in the business — as a boy, he was a “sampler,” handing out pieces of cinnamon bread while dressed in a chef’s hat and apron — but he did not immediately envision making a career of it. He studied business, became a CPA, and worked in insurance. About two decades ago, as his parents moved closer to retirement, he saw the bakery as “a midcareer shift to come back.”
“It’s a funny background, right? CPA, accountant, finance guy, running an artistic business,” he said. “But it’s so much fun, and I love it.”
His numbers-minded approach helped modernize Tiffany’s. The company expanded its online ordering and delivery business, and earlier this spring relocated from the Gallery — now Fashion District Philadelphia — to a nearby street-level storefront at 801 Arch St.
“Being on the street now is great,” Pantazopoulos said. “We have light, we have people walking by — it’s just amazing over there.”
Helping support Tiffany’s growth is a commissary kitchen that opened in West Philadelphia a little more than a year ago, allowing the bakery to centralize production while finishing and decorating products in-store.
The commissary is also a clear shot to Manayunk. Pantazopoulos noted that Main Street — a thriving retail and restaurant district with a strong residential base — has no full-line bakeries, at least since Crust Vegan Bakery moved to East Falls last year.
Tiffany’s shop offerings include croissants, Danish, muffins, sticky buns, coffee and espresso drinks, plus breakfast sandwiches. Cakes — particularly strawberry shortcake — remain Tiffany’s calling card, along with cupcakes made from the same batters and flavors.
The bakery is also leaning into a signature Tiffany’s creation: the Doyo, a rich cake doughnut developed during the pandemic after Pantazopoulos revived an idea he first encountered at a baking convention. The name is a portmanteau of “dough” and the Philly “yo.”
Unlike traditional cake doughnuts, which are fried, Doyos are deposited into pans, baked in a steam oven, and hand-finished in more than a dozen flavor and topping combinations, including lemon poppy, red velvet, and chocolate.
The chocolate is a flavor bomb. “Most chocolate cakes might have 4% to 6% cocoa powder,” Pantazopoulos said. “Ours is around 11%.”
His daughter Katina Pantazopoulos, 19, has taken on the role of creative director and brand manager while studying cello at the Juilliard School in New York. She designed much of the look of the Manayunk store, including the signage, paint colors, and hand-painted window art.
Her own bakery memories go back almost as far as she can remember. At 5, she recalled, she visited the Gallery when the head baker was making a batch of jumbo chocolate chip cookies. He handed her one fresh from the oven. “I got to sit on the bench in the back and eat this massive cookie,” she said.
Though music remains her priority, Katina sees Tiffany’s as part of her future, too.
“I definitely see myself pursuing a dual career,” she said. “I plan to help my dad out as much as possible.”
For Pantazopoulos — whose 82-year-old mother still rides the train downtown to work the counter and visit longtime staff — Manayunk is less about opening another storefront than extending a family business into its next chapter.
“We have such a multigenerational following,” he said. “We’re very grateful for that, and we don’t take it for granted.”
