Dessert shop (swah-rey) closing both St. Pete locations next month
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 28, 2021

After six years of filling St. Petersburg with sweet treats, the owner of (swah-rey) is closing its two locations next month and moving to San Diego.

Leslie Ciccone, owner of (swah-rey), said the decision comes after her full-time job with the Federal Aviation Administration — which she has had since 1991 — offered her a chance to finish her career in San Diego.

“My dream for (swah-rey) was simple: to have great scratch-made cakes available in a miniature size, and provide an atmosphere where women were safe and empowered to learn and excel in the hospitality business,” Ciccone said in a release. “At (swah-rey), we taught others to execute at a high level of excellence while exhibiting kindness and never raising a voice. My goal was to make positive impacts in the community or its people daily through (swah-rey)."

She joined the FAA after serving in the U.S. Navy from 1987 to 1991 and has lived in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C. While working for the FAA, Ciccone pursued her dreams of one day opening a restaurant and attended the French Culinary Institute. Shortly after moving to Florida in 2015, she decided it was time to put that idea to the test. Her husband, Gregg, has owned multiple restaurants and together they launched (swah-rey).

Best known for its mini cupcakes and large cake slices, (swah-rey) opened its first location at 2105 Central Ave. in St. Pete in 2015. A second store was opened at 625 Central Ave. in 2018. Ciccone said she always wanted to own a business that was the opposite of her career in air traffic control and envisioned a place where women were in charge and where kindness was as much a part of the culture as creating treats.

The goal, according to Ciccone, was to open 10 stores in 10 years. They didn’t meet that vision, but she said that “sometimes you very clearly win and sometimes you lose” both in life and in business. She said overall her life has been a win so she’s grateful for the opportunities that have been provided to them since they opened the first store.

“It has been more pleasure than pain, as is life,” she said. “I would prefer less pain that comes when a dream ends, but I am hopeful that it soon will be replaced with more peace and happiness and seeing that (swah-rey) was a job well done.”

Despite moving for her career with the FAA, Ciccone said she and her husband intend to return to St. Pete once she completes her assignment in San Diego.