Berkley resident brings cake pop and confectionery creations to Freetown shop

FREETOWN — Once a town with no bakery, Freetown recently hit the sweet spot with the opening of a confectionery shop that's made a name for itself in the SouthCoast over the past 10 years.

POP Culture - Cake Pops, Cookies and other Confections recently popped up at the 1 Chace Road plaza, near Crossroads Liquors, a welcome sight for nearby residents, according to owner Lisa Petrizzi-Geller.

"The people here have been telling me, 'Oh my god, we've needed somebody like you for so long. This is awesome,’” said Petrizzi-Geller, whose customers no longer need to travel far from home for their treats. "They are so welcoming ... the clientele is so sweet."

Journey from Fall River to Freetown

The Berkley resident's shop was previously located in a downtown Fall River storefront on Purchase Street for a year and a half, before deciding to expand her operations to a bigger, more versatile space.

"It was just time for me to move on," she said. "It was time to find a bigger spot."

So Petrizzi-Geller said farewell to Fall River at the end of October and got the keys to her new Chace Road spot at the end of December, which opened its doors on March 28.

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With an Easter weekend launch, things at POP Culture were off and running from the get-go.

"It's been great. And that weekend being a holiday it was crazy busy which was nice," she said.

In addition to a larger retail and working area, and a better bakery-style setup, the Freetown location offers another notable perk - parking spaces, which was something her former spot lacked.

How POP Culture got its start

Though she only opened her first brick-and-mortar site in spring of 2022, this year POP Culture actually marks 10 years in business.

POP Culture — a hobby and passion turned business for Lisa Petrizzi-Geller — got its start in 2014 out of her Berkley home.

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Petrizzi-Geller said she began dabbling in cake pops as "a sort of therapy" after the single mother of three had been re-diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. She would post her creations on Facebook, then began taking orders from family and friends, and eventually that snowballed into her own official business venture.

Since 2014, Petrizzi-Geller ran the pop shop out of her home kitchen under Massachusetts' cottage food laws before moving into her former Fall River space.

Now she's happy to be filling a void in Freetown when it comes to dessert destinations, and though it's only been a month Petrizzi-Geller said the new place already feels like home.

"It feels like this is where I'm supposed to be, and it's mine — my decor, my setup," said Petrizzi-Geller, whose storefront overlooks the Profile Tavern restaurant. "It's a nice little community."

What can you find at POP Culture

From the start, Petrizzi-Geller's top sellers have been her creatively designed cake pops and custom cookies — many of which are ordered for corporate events and special occasions.

POP Culture also features sugary goodness such as chocolate-covered Oreos, jumbo marshmallows dipped in chocolate, homemade Rice Krispies treats, chocolate-coated Twinkies, loaded pretzels, edible cookie dough and hot cocoa bombs.

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And with the new space, comes new offerings and an expanded selection of treats.

Now, aside from chocolate treats, you'll find an assortment of cupcakes, gourmet popcorn, biscoff banana pudding, freeze dried candy, jumbo fortune cookies, caramel turtles, truffles on display and up for grabs.

The community was invited to sample these treats and more at POP Culture's official grand opening and ribbon cutting at Chace Road held April 24.

When can we visit POP Culture?

Petrizzi-Geller is still mostly a one-woman show at POP Culture, but she aims to hire some help once things get rolling and hopefully expand her days of operation.

POP Culture is only open three days a week, so that Petrizzi-Geller has time to work on custom orders.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information about POP Culture or to get a peek at her offerings, go to https://www.popculturecakepops.com or visit the shop's Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: POP Culture cake pop shop moves from Fall River to new Freetown home