Why They Stopped Filming 'Cake Boss', And Where Carlo's Bake Shop Stands Today

If you turned on the television any time in the late 2000s to mid-2010s or opened a trendy magazine, you'd see Buddy Valastro's face smiling back at you from beside some wild, monumental cake. His show, "Cake Boss," and subsequent location at Carlo's Bake Shop dominated mainstream media from the day it aired in 2009 to the day it came to a quiet stop in 2020. Valastro remains in mainstream media today, but things look a little different. So, what changed?

The downfall of "Cake Boss" began in 2017, when Valastro lost his mother, Mary, to her battle with ALS. After her passing, Valastro took a two-year hiatus from the show while it still filmed at Carlo's Bake Shop and aired without him, not returning to "Cake Boss" until 2019. In 2020, without much fanfare or pomp, "Cake Boss" went on a hiatus and never returned for additional seasons. By this point in time, ratings were down, and the competition was stiff with the emergence of an influx of baking shows. Plus, Valastro was working on other ventures, such as Buddy V's Ristorante (one of many kid-friendly restaurants to visit in Las Vegas), which took up a lot of his time.

The same year that "Cake Boss" took an unexpected hiatus, Buddy Valastro suffered a horrific accident in which his right hand was impaled by equipment from his at-home bowling alley, leaving him unable to bake. He told TODAY that the magic that allows him to create his signature extravagant cakes "might not ever be there again," but he made a miraculous recovery within just one year after the accident. Two years after recovery, Valastro returned to daytime television with "Buddy Valastro's Cake Dynasty," a direct continuation where he still whips up out-of-the-box creations like his over-the-top cakes from "Cake Boss."

Carlo's Bake Shop is now a multi-store chain with locations across the country, though it began as just a singular location in New Jersey. There are bakeries in Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, and Texas, with a flagship location opening in the heart of Times Square just last year. Valastro himself is still an active participant at the bakeries on top of the work he handles with other business ventures. Carlo's Bake Shop products are sold on the company's website as well as nationwide at Walmart stores. You might also spot Carlo's Bake Shop items at various airports or malls in the rogue "Cake Boss" Cake Vending Machine, though they're surrounded by a bit of controversy.