Anthony Campitello, with daughters Cristina, left, and Angie, has opened Alfonso’s Pastry Shop in the Broad Street space that was formerly home to Carlo’s Bake Shop. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Meet the new boss.

Quickly filling a retail space vacated by famed TV ‘Cake Boss’ Buddy Valastro, a new pastry shop opened in Red Bank Wednesday, offering creamy desserts… and some perhaps unexpected savory items.The display cases at Alfonso’s were stocked with cakes, cookies and more Wednesday.  (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Alfonso’s Pastry Shoppe, based in Staten Island, conducted a soft opening Wednesday of its new store at 86 Broad Street. The space was abruptly vacated in July by Valastro’s business, Carlo’s Bake Shop, after a five-year run.

Anthony Campitiello, who with his brother, Vincent, is a second-generation owner of Alfonso’s, said the business would be in full operation starting Thursday, joining a second location on Staten Island and another store in Cranford, in Union County.

The shop came about when the Campitiellos learned of Carlo’s closing and expressed an interest in buying the store’s equipment, Anthony told redbankgreen’s Retail Churn. The brothers were preparing to open a new shop with the equipment in Manalapan, but friends persuaded them to take a closer look at Red Bank, he said.

“I came down and saw it was a good fit, with all the restaurants in town,” he said.

The business, which started when the brothers’ late father, named Alfonso, bought a German bakery in 1970 and transformed it into an Italian pastry shop, offers a rich array of sweets, including a cakes, cookies and cannolis.

The new store, though, will add a spin to the Alfonso’s model.

“This will be more of café than we’ve done before,” Campitiello said. In addition to baked goods and coffee, the business will carry sandwiches, pizzas, focaccia and other lunch items.

And yes, bread, which many Retail Churn readers have been yearning for.

Alfonso’s is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. except Sunday, when it closes at 5, and Monday, when it’s closed.