Serving Riverdale, NJ
The Bakery near Riverdale, NJ — Just up Hamburg Turnpike
Riverdale has the Route 23 big-box strip; Bloomingdale, one town up the Pequannock River, has the bakery. The Magpie is a 5–8 minute drive up Hamburg Turnpike — close enough to be your neighborhood bakery, even if the sign says Bloomingdale.
Riverdale has plenty of places to buy things — the Route 23 corridor with its Target, Home Depot, and roughly 60,000 cars a day sees to that — but it doesn't have an old-fashioned bakery of its own. The nearest one is just across the Pequannock River: The Magpie Bakery, in the Riverside Square plaza in downtown Bloomingdale, where owner and head baker Melanie Stripeikis (30+ years of baking) fills the case each morning with pies, croissants, cinnamon rolls, donuts, cookies, and savory hand pies.
Getting here from Riverdale
It's a straight shot — about two miles, 5–8 minutes. From downtown Riverdale, near Riverdale School on Newark Pompton Turnpike, follow Hamburg Turnpike northwest along the river. You'll cross into Bloomingdale around the Union Avenue junction by the municipal building, and the road carries you onto Main Street — Riverside Square is right there in downtown Bloomingdale. Coming from the Route 23 retail strip on the Target and Home Depot side of town? Take Route 23 North one exit and pick up Hamburg Turnpike the same way. Either way, you're parking before your coffee order would have cooled.
And if you're at the Original Riverdale Farmers Market at the Glenburn Estate on a Tuesday, the bakery is minutes up the very same road — Hamburg Turnpike runs right past the estate on its way into Bloomingdale.
What Riverdale neighbors come in for
At this distance, nothing has to be a planned trip. Riverdale regulars treat the Magpie like the bakery their own downtown never had:
- Morning runs — coffee and breakfast, a croissant or turnover for the ride, a dozen donuts grabbed on the way back down Hamburg Turnpike. See the full menu of everyday bakes.
- Family milestones — birthday cakes for Riverdale School kids and graduation cakes when your teen finishes up across the river at Pompton Lakes High School. Being 5–8 minutes away means you can stop in, plan a custom cake with Melanie, and pick up the finished cake the same week without rearranging your schedule.
- Events at Glenburn and Freedom Park — the circa-1816 Glenburn Estate hosts weddings and parties, and the rec department fills the calendar with Riverdale Day, the First Responders 5K, and Fright Night. Dessert trays, cupcake orders, and wedding spreads are what our catering is built for, and we're closer to those venues than most of Riverdale is.
The themes that come up again and again in the bakery's Google reviews — 4.9 stars across 317 of them — are custom cakes designed side by side with Melanie, wedding dessert spreads that disappear before the dancing starts, vegan and allergen-friendly bakes, and everyday pastries and donuts that justify the detour. Read all 317 reviews and you'll see how many of your neighbors already make the drive.
Coming from the other side of the river or further along the valley? We're just as handy for neighbors in Pompton Lakes and Butler. Order ahead at magpiebakerytogo.com and it's boxed and waiting, or call (973) 291-6756 for anything custom.
Good to know
Questions, answered
How long does it take to get to The Magpie Bakery from Riverdale?
About 5–8 minutes door to door — roughly two miles. Follow Hamburg Turnpike northwest out of Riverdale along the Pequannock River, cross into Bloomingdale, and continue onto Main Street; the Riverside Square plaza is right in downtown Bloomingdale. From the Route 23 shopping side of Riverdale, it's one exit north on Route 23 and then the same stretch of Hamburg Turnpike.
Can you make desserts for an event at the Glenburn Estate or Freedom Park?
Yes — this is exactly the kind of order we love, and the bakery is only minutes from both. We build wedding dessert tables with cannolis, napoleons, lemon bars, and bread pudding, plus catering trays and custom cupcakes for parties and town events. Call (973) 291-6756, tell us the date and headcount, and we'll plan it with you — including how pickup (or any other arrangements) will work for your event.
Can I order a custom cake from Riverdale without building a trip around it?
Easily. Call the bakery, talk the design through with Melanie, and your cake is boxed and waiting at Riverside Square on the day — a 5–8 minute hop you can fold into a school run or a Route 23 errand. Just call ahead with your date so it's on the baking calendar.
One town over, worth every one of the five minutes
Order online for pickup at Riverside Square, or call the bakery to plan a cake or a catering tray for your Riverdale event.