Lydia Maguire 
It all started with a little marshmallow “Boo” that Michelle Garatina made one Halloween six years ago. On a whim, she posted a picture on a Facebook page. “Do you think anybody will buy this?” Michelle asked her friend. By the weekend, she had 600 orders. Fast forward to today, and Michelle is running and operating her own cafe and catering company at 314 Washington Avenue in Nutley, her childhood hometown. Read on to discover more about Nutley’s newest cafe, The Sweet Life.
The Backstory
When Michelle and her sisters were kids wandering around Nutley after school, she remembers stopping at the very same corner where her cafe now sits to buy treats from the local sweet shop. A few years later, the sweet shop closed, and a tailor moved in, becoming a neighborhood fixture for over 30 years and best known for making suits for the infamous Sopranos. One day in 2024, Michelle was walking past her old corner with a friend when she noticed the tailor was closing up shop in 30 days.
^ Michelle Garatina, the owner of The Sweet Life Cafe
“I always knew I wanted a cafe,” says Michelle. Back when she sold her first little Boos, and her holidays became packed with custom catering orders, she even bought the domain name for her future shop. You know, just in case.
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When the tailor shop became available, Michelle’s friend was convinced it was her moment. “I’m not ready for my own space,” Michelle remembers saying. Still, she walked by that corner every day for a month, weighing the reasons she wasn’t ready. On the very last day, she decided, why not? She contacted the owner, pitched her idea, and despite his no-food policy, he changed his mind after meeting her. “Alright,” he told her. “You can have the space.”
With her husband’s support (and his contracting crew) Michelle transformed the tailor shop into The Sweet Life, honoring its past with nods to both the sweet shop of her childhood and the tailor, including an iron doorstop salvaged from his workshop. The result is a cozy, cottage-core cafe, with fresh pink flowers, white distressed bookshelves, and shabby-chic touches that make it feel like home.
“I wanted it to have a very specific feel.,” Michelle tells The Montclair Girl. “It’s a place where people can come and feel comfortable.”
The Sweet Life
That comfort is exactly what we saw during our visit. A group of junior high girls sat giggling over matchas, cookies, and Pink Unicorns (a warm drink of steamed milk dyed pink, dusted with edible glitter, and topped with whipped cream and a tiny dessert horn). Even after finishing their treats, they lingered outside under the pink umbrella, continuing their conversation. Watching them, Michelle couldn’t help but see herself and her sisters all those years ago. “I get emotional sometimes when I think about it, because it’s come full circle,” she says, looking at them. “And my mom would be really proud.”
But The Sweet Life isn’t just about nostalgia. It’s also about flavor. Michelle’s handcrafted coffees have quickly developed a loyal following, with creative concoctions like Bananas Foster (a MG favorite), Flan, Nutella, and Caramel Crunch. The shop’s shelves are stocked with gluten-free cookies, brownies, and pretzels, alongside Michelle’s neighborhood-famous Munch — a mix of potato chips and pretzels wrapped in white chocolate and M&Ms that sells out as fast as she can make it. And then there are the famous Dubai brownies: decadent chocolate squares draped in pistachio cream, topped with kanafa, and finished with a spritz of edible glitter. They’re almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
The community has embraced The Sweet Life since day one. “I don’t advertise,” Michelle says. “It’s all word of mouth.” From catering orders that already have her booked solid through next season, to her ever-growing cafe clientele, Michelle is quickly becoming a beloved fixture in the town she grew up in. And she makes sure to give back. Take her “Sweet Scraps,” for instance — bags of broken pretzel pieces dipped in chocolate and sold like a nostalgic puppy chow. Every quarter, proceeds go to the Pet Pantry at the Nutley Family Service Bureau.
Michelle is also passionate about supporting fellow local makers, often collaborating with other business owners who hold Cottage Licenses and need a place to share their products. And through her catering, she’s become a part of the stories within her own community. She recalls one recent graduation order, where she realized she had also catered the young woman’s sweet 16. “You become attached to the people,” Michelle said. “You’re part of these big moments in their life. I love that a piece of this is with them.”
Michelle has already built something remarkable, and she isn’t slowing down. She’s dreaming of expanding her kitchen, adding ice cream, maybe even franchising The Sweet Life down the shore. One day, maybe she will even team up with her sisters (an event planner and a baker) to create a powerhouse trifecta that can offer everything under one roof. “I have so many ideas,” she says with a smile. “But one day at a time.”
Right now, with Halloween around the corner, Michelle is focused on bringing back those infamous little Boos. What began with a single marshmallow has blossomed into a community hub where neighbors gather, memories are made, and life feels just a little bit sweeter. The Sweet Life is proving that the best neighborhoods always make room for dessert and coffee.
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