Baked AF opens on Goss Avenue as third concept from group behind Hauck's Corner

A giant ice cream sundae statue on Goss Avenue marks the spot of the latest culinary venture from the team behind Hauck’s Corner.

Baked AF, 1010 Goss Ave., opened its doors in late May on the Germantown-Schnitzelburg neighborhood line. The all-day sweet shop focuses on pastries and coffee in the mornings and desserts and ice cream later in the day.

“We noticed a need in the neighborhood for a dessert shop,” said Allan Rosenberg, chef and co-owner. “And funny enough, I have a passion for making ice creams.”

It’s the newest partnership for Rosenberg and Fred Pizzonia, who last September opened Breakfast AF and Pizza AF at 1008 Goss Ave., a breakfast eatery that flips into a pizzeria in the afternoon. The AF is a tongue-in-cheek reference to their first names.

Pizzonia is part of the group that transformed the beloved Hauck’s Handy Store, 1000 Goss Ave., into a bar and restaurant in September 2022.

The row of properties are connected via an extended backyard space that’s been turned into a large courtyard with seating, yard games, and a playground.

“People with kids can come here and kind of have some adult time but also let their kids run around and do all their stuff because it's a safe environment,” Rosenberg said. “They can play at the playground. There’s ping pong. There’s cornhole. It’s like our own food court, right?”

Originally a shotgun home built in 1920, the dessert shop building has been decorated with vintage signage, refurbished soda machines, chrome stools, a jukebox and booth seating made from old beverage coolers, giving the shop the feeling of a retro soda fountain.

The original wooden flooring has been refinished and ceiling boards are painted in Neapolitan ice cream colors.

The bakery focuses on breakfast pastries including homemade toaster pastries, muffins, and sweet breads such as banana and lemon breads during the day.

A small machine cranks out freshly fried, made-to-order donuts that are then topped in more than a dozen ways, including “basic AF” styles such as powdered, glazed and cinnamon sugar, and “fancy AF” flavors including maple bacon, s’mores and strawberry shortcake.

Display cases transition in the afternoon to showing off cakes, cookies, cupcakes and brownies.

Flavors are expected to rotate but current cake varieties include carrot, lemon and Italian cream, among others. A variety of ice creams and milkshakes round out the menu.

Rosenberg has been cooking professionally for more than two decades and is a veteran of the Louisville restaurant industry, having opened Papalinos Pizza, Fontleroy’s, and Butchertown Pizza Hall.

Rosenberg said he’ll be bringing yet another offering, tacos, to what he and Pizzonia affectionately call their “compound” along Goss Avenue.

Plans are in the works to add a taco stand to the rear of Hauck’s Corner, which is set to open in late June.

There are other ideas percolating, too, he said, noting he’s pondering a deli (“My last name is Rosenberg, so a good Jewish deli?”)

“I have a lot of ideas for things that this area needs,” Rosenberg said.

Pizzeria, who is part of the ownership group of the row of properties in the 1000 block of Goss Avenue, said he’s proud to be part of the team adding momentum to the corridor's bar and dining scene.

“For the past seven months, we’ve been at it seven days a week,” Pizzonia said of developing Baked AF “It’s what gets me out of bed and drives me every morning. It’s the people, just seeing the excitement in them.”

Reach growth and development reporter Matthew Glowicki at [email protected] or 502-582-4000.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Baked AF, an all-day dessert shop, opens on Goss Avenue in Louisville