Betty Halpenny, the owner of Ramona Susan’s Bakeshop in South Philly, came to the City of Brotherly Love after attending The Institute of Culinary Education In New York to pursue her dream of becoming a small business owner.

She had spent years creating her own recipes, and opened her own bakery in June 2016 alongside her business partner, Eleanor Monroe.

Since then, Halpenny and Monroe have been making fresh and delicious treats at their flagship location on South Street and another spot Fishtown.

Throughout June, the bakery will be selling rainbow-themed cupcakes in honor of Pride Month. Halpenny explained that the effort is something she’s been thinking about for a while.

“A lot of my dear friends fit in that community and I care about them very much,” Halpenny said in a recent interview with AL DÍA News.

The profits from selling the rainbow cupcakes will go towards various LGBTQ charities chosen by Halpenny and Monroe.

Their small business is also still recovering from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They signed a lease on their second location in Fishtown less than a month before the pandemic came to Philly.

“We just decided to keep going, we already had construction lined up,” said Halpenny.

The duo opened a takeout window.

Like many other restaurants in the city, the window was the only avenue to serve customers and still have a connection with them.

It took some time, but the shift caught on.

“Once we knew that restrictions would be around for a while, we started to see new customers come in and support us, but it was definitely a struggle,” said Halpenny.

Still, they saw an increase in customers.

“People were still having small parties, and people were ordering a lot of small cakes,” she said.

People thought of creative ways to celebrate their birthdays with loved ones while still social distancing, and Halpenny received many unique requests

“A lot of customers were doing a lot of outdoor drive-by parties and we had a bunch of requests for pre-sliced pre-packaged cakes to give out safely,” she said.

In the process of getting back to normal, the bakeshop is back to serving their personal spins of classic baked goods.

“We sell a ton of cupcakes, and many people come in for our Funfetti cupcakes,” she said.

Another best-selling item is their cheesecake, made with a classic graham cracker crust, cream cheese and mascarpone cheese, topped with whipped cream.

“We sell way more cheesecake than we thought we would,” said Halpenny.

The bakery will also be selling its seasonal, delicious chipwich ice cream sandwiches just in time for Summer.

If you are in the South Philly area and you're in the mood for something sweet, treat yourself to a homemade red velvet cupcake with a chilled iced coffee from Ramona Susan’s Bakeshop!