James Coles Brings Caribbean Closer to Jersey Shore With Rum Cakes
Goodway Gourmet's James Coles engages customers at the Ocean City Block Party on May 3, 2025. Photo by Meredith Winner/Mer-Made Photography.
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
OCEAN CITY — “You need rum cake in your life” is one of James Coles’ regular punch lines at Jersey Shore’s spring and summer festivals behind a line of his delicious creations, and many of his Goodway Gourmet Bakery customers tend to agree.
Despite living in upstate New York, Coles is a fixture at festivals from Cape May to Atlantic City and Asbury Park during the festival season. Attendees look forward to him coming with his variety of rum cakes, with traditional flavors like The Showroom, Coconut Butter, and Black Raspberry.
On this particular day at the street festival just steps from the Ocean City Boardwalk and the Atlantic Ocean, Coles was doing brisk business with a wide smile and the kind of Caribbean charm that matches his rum cakes.
“Life without rum cake is life no life at all,” Coles told a couple as they contemplated which rum cake to grab. Coles quietly admitted he was starting to run low, but that’s just part of the fun.
Coles said his family hails from Nassau, Bahamas and had the humblest beginnings when starting their own bakery in New York City.
“I was a little kid and saw my family sell cakes outside their home in New York,” Coles told Front Runner New Jersey. “There would be trucks traveling from Philadelphia and Asbury Park to New York City and they would stop just to get a cake.”
An uncle who joined the U.S. Navy was one of the family’s best rum cake makers. He would share his rum cakes with him wherever he was stationed and kept tweaking his recipes until he found the best combinations.
“It took a long time for him to get it right,” Coles said among customers. “For my grandmothers, it was trial and error. We all had to learn. Actually, we’re still learning!”
For repeat Jersey Shore customers Nicole Hodson and Brandon Marin, those lessons have been learned well.
“We bought two big cakes when you were in Wildwood and they didn’t last long,” Hodson told Coles. “We love Coconut Butter!”
When asked if she looked for Coles’ Goodway Gourmet sign at South Jersey festivals, she was quick to give a full-throated endorsement.
“We always see his stand and always drop by,” Hodson said. “They are delicious! The whole family just loved it. The cakes did not last long at all. Everyone needs to stop here. This is the spot!”
While one can order one of Coles’ creations online, where more choices can be found, many have opted to get their hands on the rum cakes directly at the local festivals.
At the New York State Fair last year, Coles’ product line caught the attention of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who stopped and made a short Instagram post about it.
What makes Coles’ Goodway Gourmet rum cakes so good?
“Rum cakes are simply the best,” Cole said. “No one can compare to it. It’s just as natural in the Caribbean because of the water and islands. They go together hand-in-hand, and they are made with that in mind.”
Coles said while he tries to get out around the Northeast region, he admits the sales and his customers on the Jersey shore keep him particularly busy. He has even had offers to create a store in the Ocean City area. He said for now, he is working to possibly get some local supermarkets to sell his cakes.
While Coles gave no hint slowing down on his rum cake business, he admitted to realizing it as something he has to consider.
“I’m an old man now, but this has been going on for the better part of 40 years,” Coles said. “This season, I won’t see my home until around Thanksgiving.”
Until then, Coles will be bringing a lot of rum cakes to residents in South Jersey.
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