The former U.S. Post Office on Garfield Boulevard in Garfield Heights, Cuyahoga County, is now home to Park Avenue Muffin, a family-owned bakery. The business is led by Mark Orahoske, a Navy veteran with a 100% disability rating. Orahoske began baking as a child, working with his father at Mike’s Donuts in Maple Heights. After his military service, he returned in 1982 to help with the family business. Over time, the bakery shifted from making doughnuts to producing muffin and cookie batter for local businesses, eventually becoming Park Avenue Muffin.
In the late 1990s, the bakery changed its focus to cake production. Park Avenue Muffin now makes block and quarter sheet cakes, producing about 5,000 cakes each day. The business moved to the current location in 2007. Orahoske credits his military experience for the bakery’s strict cleanliness and food safety practices. He estimates that the bakery has produced and sold about 28 million cakes since the 1990s.
The bakery offers eight cake flavors: carrot, wedding, red velvet, banana, lemon, raspberry, pumpkin, and chocolate. Cakes are sold in individual metal pans for less than $2 at local stores such as Dave’s Market, Marc’s, and Drug Mart. The company also distributes products to several states outside Ohio. Park Avenue Muffin employs between two and eight people, depending on business needs…