Our Story
For over 15 years Guilty Pleasures has been creating fun and flavorful Italian Style Cheesecakes.
Justine’s love for all things culinary started at an incredibly young age when she would help her mother in the kitchen.
Every year she would ask Santa for the same thing, an EASY BAKE OVEN! And every year her mother would reply the same way; “we have a real oven, anything you would like to bake will be made there.”
In hindsight, she is glad she never received that oven, not only for the quality time spent with her mother but because of all the knowledge she gained from her.
Fast forward, and Guilty Pleasures Cheesecakes was born one summer day when Justine decided to mix rainbow cookies, raspberry preserves, chocolate ganache, and sprinkles into a cheesecake. She brought the cheesecake to a block party…and the rest is history!
Justine Maiorino worked for 22 years in the fashion industry as an agent representing photographers, hair & make-up artists, and stylists, helping to produce photoshoots, and launching such companies as Urban Decay Cosmetics. She worked closely with magazines, designers, celebrities, PR firms, advertising agencies, catalogs, etc…
Her love for cooking and baking always played a close second and she always found the time to create cheesecakes on the side. Turning her favorite candy bar, dessert, or flavor combinations into cheesecake form, the business began to grow….
…Rewind to Patrick’s Childhood in Brooklyn and you can see where his passion for all things Nostalgic began.
From hanging out at the Local Candy Store, Toy Store, Bakeries and Shoppes along 18th Avenue, building soapbox racers, playing buck buck, manhunt, stickball and skullies to riding his bike to Coney Island and collecting whatever cool things he found along the way. That feeling of excitement and happiness he felt when entering the candy store and growing up in Brooklyn stuck with him his whole life…. little did he know what would lie ahead.
When he started his career with the New York City Sanitation Department he would find Antiques that he would “Rescue” and transform into Treasures. First edition Novels, Old Postcards, Vintage Magazines, Restoring Old Furniture etc…..his love for the past grew.
When he met Justine, he had no idea how similar they were and how both of their passions would someday collide into something amazing!
They spent hours in a tiny kitchen creating unusual flavors, experimenting with different ingredients, changing up crusts, sizes, and shapes, stuffing cheesecake inside of cookies, cakes, and cones, making both sweet and savory…
When they decided to move forward with a Storefront, Patrick set out to recreate a little bit of his childhood in the space, the objective was for the customer to walk in and be taken back in time. They scoured yard sales, antique stores, and flea markets to find objects that reminded them of their childhood. Both inspired by Willy Wonka, both have a Love for Antiques, Sweet Treats, Crafting, Prop building and making people happy, they put their heads together to create something Unique!
Now the pair has decided to take a right turn and drive straight ahead into dedicating the time to bring you the most amazing comforting Desserts, Candy, and Retro Toys and Games! Step into Guilty Pleasures and Step back into your Childhood!
Nothing tastes better then Nostalgia!
If you can imagine it, we can create it!