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Sugar Happy Bakery & Coffee owner Caylin “KK” Campilongo was moved to open a restaurant in Arizona by its friendly people and spectacular sunsets after visiting from California, where she owned eateries.
Sugar Happy is a sweet Airpark newcomer By Alison Bailin Batz
A
s it turns out, the Airpark can thank Arizona’s amazing sunsets for one of its most delicious new businesses in the area, Sugar Happy Bakery & Coffee. “I actually grew up in the restaurant business in Monterey, California, working for my parents’ various restaurant ventures until I was 18,” says Caylin “KK” Campilongo, Sugar Happy founder and owner. “I really got the hospitality and entrepreneur bug from them.” Campilongo spent much of her young adulthood in California, owning and managing her own restaurants. “Between stints in California, I made a pit stop to do some work here in the Valley,” Campilongo says. “Though I wasn’t able to make Arizona my home at that time, the outrageous sunsets, not to mention all of the smiling people, had my heart even then. I was determined to make my way back here some day.” That “some day” was February 2016, when Campilongo sold her successful restaurant in Palo Alto, California, and joined her father here. Of course, she also had her sights set on opening a business. “When the space on Scottsdale and Acoma became available, I was motivated to action,” Campilongo says. “I was always very hands on at all of my restaurants, especially when it came to the desserts.
58 | Scottsdale Airpark News March 2017
(Photos courtesy of Sugar Happy Bakery & Coffee)
The idea of a bakery seemed a perfect fit.” By the time she held her grand opening in December 2016, Sugar Happy was far more than a basic bakery. The bright, light, stylish shop is more neighbor gathering place, complete with coffee service and a sneaky-good lunch menu with soup, salad and panini. WiFi and flat-screen televisions playing local, regional and international sports add appeal for diverse clients. “We even have outlets under every
single table encouraging people to come in, kick back and style awhile,” Campilongo says. That’s not to say the bakery offerings are anything to shrug off. “Our goal with our bakery items is to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth,” Campilongo says. For those who can eat anything, menu highlights include revolving cupcake flavors daily, decadent cookies and flavored