Sunita Shiwdin, Mahalo Bakery
Did you know that New York City has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in our neighborhoods? According to New York City Small Business Services, women across the five boroughs employ over 190,000 people and generate approximately $50 billion in sales. This month, we’re proud to present our annual Women’s issue—dedicated to all the innovative women chefs, food entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, bakers, mixologists and more who help feed the borough everyday.
Coinciding with the print issue (you’ll be able to pick up a copy soon!), every weekday throughout the month of May, we’re featuring a different Queens woman in the food industry. From Flushing’s dumpling maestro Helen You, to Long Island City’s Brazilian baker, Daniela Martins-Schwarzbauer and Last Dragon Pizza’s Nicole Russell in Rockaway, each woman reflects the diverse and independent spirit of Queens. Oh, and did we mention that our woman-owned magazine produced this women’s issue with a team of all-women writers, photographers, illustrators, designers and editors (save for our photo editor, Ed Lefkowicz)? No big deal.
Sunita Shiwdin, Mahalo Bakery
Mahalo—a Hawaiian expression of gratitude—was born of Sunita Shiwdin’s desire to instantly transport herself to the tropics. Luckily for Glendale residents, they can join the sun-worshiping migration, and the only price of passage is a pineapple guava cupcake. Certainly, working magic with butter and flour was an unlikely career path for Shiwdin, who grew up without plumbing or electricity in Lesbeholden, Guyana.
An uncle sponsored her immigration to New York City in 1995, and she’s been making good on her American dream ever since, taking English as a Second Language classes and enrolling in school (she’d had no formal education until that point). Shiwdin metamorphosed from substitute teacher to self-taught baker, and as of 2015, to business-owning entrepreneur. The name of the store references her honeymoon in Hawaii, while most of her creations contain childhood memories baked right in. A “mango mango” cupcake evokes the fruit trees she used to climb with her brother, while a hibiscus cupcake calls forth the nectar-sipping hummingbirds that flitted around her former backyard.
