Established: 2008

While new customers may walk in to Big Mama’s Cheesecakes expecting just to choose and purchase a cheesy delight, what they will really get on the side of their cake is a warm fuzzy feeling. It’s cheesecake with a smile at Big Mama’s.

Joseph Fanizzi and wife, Carrie "Big Mama" Fanizzi, are co-owners of Big Mama’s Cheesecakes. Carrie has taken on the nickname from her mother, for whom the business is named.

The couple started the business in 2008 after wholesale clients and others who had sampled their cheesecakes urged them to open their own retail store. They quickly grew out of their original store in Mattydale as customers spread the word about their cakes and hospitality.

“I don’t know if we’re lucky or good,” Joseph Fanizzi said, “but we’ll take both.”

Today, Big Mama’s is located within Northern Lights Plaza in North Syracuse. With a bright, airy vibe and walls painted a warm red, the décor is more like a mother’s kitchen than a business. Customers can sit at bistro-style tables, have coffee with their cheesecake and enjoy a laugh and a chat with the Fanizzi family.

Regular customers are greeted by name at Big Mama’s, and employees from stores within the plaza often visit the Fanizzis and pick up cakes on their lunch breaks.

“Is this your first time here?” Fanizzi asked a customer as she entered.

The woman replied yes and Fanizzi responded coolly and confidently, “You won’t be disappointed.”

The Fanizzis take pride in their product and say they want to continue seeing satisfied smiles on the faces of their customers.

“I like making the cakes beautiful, “ Fanizzi said, “because people eat with their eyes first.”