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![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_3943-rotated.jpg\" "\\"Harlem")
<\/a>A box of strawberry donuts from Nyla\u2019s Petite Bakery.Photo by Karizma Jernigan\n<\/p>\nSome of the popular menu items the bakery offers include strawberry kisses donuts, cookies and cream donuts and banana pudding flavored donuts that can be ordered online and picked up in store, or ordered in person.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis used to be a barbershop, then it was an art shop,\u201d Clayton told AMNY. \u201cIt has been so many things, and we were like, this would be a perfect space for the bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clayton acquired the space in February 2025 and opened up shop in March that same year. She said that she lives in the area and that she and her mother had been eyeing the space for a while and noticed when it had become vacant right away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love this to expand,\u201d Clayton said. \u201cThat way, I can actually have an industrial kitchen and I don\u2019t have to run from place to place.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The space, like its namesake, is small, so there is no commercial kitchen that can be used to make Clayton\u2019s famed mini donuts onsite. Clayton wakes up at 5 a.m. every Saturday and makes all of her inventory from scratch. She then transports the fresh, baked goods to her shop. <\/p>\n
Though Clayton works hard, she does not do it alone. Clayton says that her entire family is full of entrepreneurs. Her mother, or momager, used to own a spa on 57th and Fifth Ave. called Bar Beaut\u00e9 and has taught and helped her with the finances.\u00a0Clayton\u2019s father has helped her with the creative side of the business and all the branding and logo designing.\u00a0Her younger sister, who is in the sixth grade, is her \u201cPR\u201d and taste tester and Clayton has two schoolmates that are also seniors at her high school working at the bakery. All of this, she says, is her support system.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn April, I\u2019m going to turn 18 and this whole thing is going to be all on me,\u201d Clayton said, referring to Nyla\u2019s Petite Bakery, which will fully belong to her next month.<\/p>\n
Clayton and her bakery were most recently featured<\/a> on Teen Vogue\u2019s video series \u201cThe Lead Up,\u201d which follows young people preparing for a major event in their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the vlog-style interview, Clayton spoke about her story and the launch of two new flavors in honor of Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl LX performance and her Puerto Rican heritage.<\/p>\n The bakery was also featured in a brief entertainment segment<\/a> on NBC News in January 2026, as well as on Secret NYC\u2019s Tiktok<\/a> page in July 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout these experiences of me getting interviewed, I feel like my confidence has definitely grown with speaking to new people and just getting comfortable with speaking. I feel like people want to see more personality rather than a brand or a robot,\u201d Clayton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Clayton shared her plans of taking a gap year after graduation and thoughts of studying psychology or theater in college.\n<\/p>\n For people interested in starting their own businesses, Clayton offered some advice.\n<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest things that I\u2019ve learned overall is the importance of confidence in your brand and confidence in yourself,\u201d Clayton emphasized. \u201cOnce you build your own brand, you find a problem, and our problem here was there\u2019s no vegan treats around here.\u201d<\/p>\n Clayton added that once the problem was addressed with her bakery, confidence is what led her to pitch herself and her business for TV segments, magazines and social media.<\/p>\n Clayton also shared advice for those who are looking to adopt a vegan lifestyle.<\/p>\n \u201cStart with a small goal,\u201d she said. \u201cDabble in the water, get a vegan treat here and there, a vegan restaurant, just try it. You\u2019ll know when you\u2019re ready to take the leap.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Clayton said that Mark Levine, the former Manhattan Borough President at the time and now New York City Comptroller, stopped by the bakery for a visit and shared that she would love it if NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani stopped by the bakery as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to elected officials, Clayton mentioned social media influencer and model Alex Consani, as well as rapper A$AP Rocky as guests she\u2019d love to stop by as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first started, Billie Eilish was vegan,\u201d Clayton said. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to hit up her mom. In terms of the vegan world, Tabitha Brown<\/a> and Billie Eilish\u2018s mom<\/a> are like really big vegan advocates<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As Nyla\u2019s Petite Bakery approaches its one-year anniversary during Women\u2019s History Month on March 29, Clayton reflected on her success and the support that she received during Black History Month and talked about supporting Black-owned businesses year-round.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI appreciate all the support that I\u2019ve gotten [during Black History Month] for a fact,\u201d Clayton said. \u201cI think you have to realize when they say support Black businesses, that it\u2019s not just this month, it\u2019s every single month.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need that kind of fuel back again,\u201d Clayton said regarding people only supporting Black-owned businesses in February. \u201cThat\u2019s not how it works. Supporting Black businesses doesn\u2019t just mean for the month of February, it means all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_3932-rotated.jpg\" "\\"Harlem")
<\/a>Photo by Karizma Jernigan<\/p>\n