Former street vendor from SP creates a pastry shop with a retro vibe and is successful in Perus

With a two-story space and an outdoor area, the Romeo e Julieta pastry shop is one of the favorite cafes in Perus, in the northwest region of São Paulo. The atmosphere with retro decor attracts the public as one of the options for those who want to have a bite after lunch.

Opened in 2015, the history of the place coincides with the history of the owner, Joice Ponciano, 33 years old. In the midst of an economic crisis and fearing that her husband would be fired from his job as a metallurgist, she anticipated and decided to create the confectionery.

That’s how he opened a small shop in front of a school with the aim of selling brigadiers to students, but the students’ mothers and fathers were really interested. “Our initial intention was to cover the expenses. “There was still no strategy. We only made sweets, but, even if simple, from the beginning we thought of decoration, which attracted audiences beyond the school children “, she says.

But the crowd grew when the house desserts were created. “This began to attract people’s curiosity. They saw it, took pictures, recommended it to friends. It was already a cozy place, even simple. There were even queues”, recalls Joice.

With the success that the retro style of the cafe made, they moved to a bigger space after a year and, in mid-2019, they settled in the current, even bigger address.

Among the standout pastries of the house, the Gran Gateau, which costs R$ 45.50, is one of the clientele’s darlings, alongside the Gran Romeo, sold for R$ 41.50, which was the first dessert on the menu. Both are made with chocolate cake and ice cream.

Other attractions are the mini-escondidinhos (from R$19.50), served at lunch. Made with a blend of potatoes, cream cheese and gratin cheese, they are served in jerky, turkey breast, chicken and pepperoni flavors. For vegetarians, there are options of palm heart and white cheese.

The bakery also offers ready-to-delivery cakes (from R$75.50) and birthday baskets, which can be ordered through Ifood or through the Romeo and Julieta app.

Joice’s vein for creating businesses came early. Born and raised in the Perus neighborhood, her first contact with the world of entrepreneurship was when she was 10 years old, when she accompanied her uncles in a jewelry store.

At 19, she migrated to the health field and graduated in nursing, but continued to sell jewelry to her college colleagues. In the same period, she set up a women’s accessories stand on the boardwalk in front of the Perus train station. “I gave up because of the police. Trade was not authorized and one day [os policiais] arrived very aggressive, so I chose to stop”, he says.

She tried to stay in the job market as a nurse, doing home care, but in 2015, faced with the fear of the difficulties linked to her husband’s possible unemployment, she returned to her first project. The inspiration to open the establishment came from an acquaintance who had set up a pastry shop on the east side, where she sold brigadiers, sweets, cakes in the pot and cones.

Among the main challenges in this path of entrepreneurship in the periphery, she highlights the lack of public security that also surrounds the establishments and the search for balance between professional and personal life. Despite the consolidated business, Joice says that she continues to seek knowledge and new strategies. “I managed to achieve this balance, but I always seek to improve more and more”, she comments.