Honestly, if you grew up watching TLC in the late 2000s, you can probably still hear the chaotic sound of Italian-American shouting over a tray of lobster tails. Cake Boss wasn't just a show about flour and sugar. It was a loud, flour-dusted window into a family business that felt like it belonged to all of us. But if you try to find it on the TV schedule today, things look a lot different than they did in 2009.
Buddy Valastro became a household name because he could turn 500 pounds of modeling chocolate into a life-sized race car. People loved the Hoboken vibe. They loved the "Fuggetaboutit" energy. But the journey from a small New Jersey bakery to a global "Cake Dynasty" involved a lot more than just baking. It involved legal drama, a devastating family loss, and a freak accident that almost cost Buddy his career.
Where did the Cake Boss go?
The show officially stopped airing new episodes on TLC back in 2017, and by 2020, the original run was basically over. It didn't just vanish into thin air, though. The business grew too big for the "family bakery" format.
Buddy eventually moved his main production from the cramped, iconic Hoboken shop to a massive 55,000-square-foot facility in Jersey City known as "The Lackawanna." This was a business necessity. You can't ship thousands of cakes across the country from a storefront that barely has room for a cooling rack.
In 2023, the family officially transitioned to a new series called Buddy Valastro’s Cake Dynasty on A&E. It’s a different beast. While the old show focused on the "mom and pop" struggle, the new one is about the massive corporate machine Carlo's Bakery has become. It’s also about the next generation—Buddy's kids, Sofia, Buddy Jr., Marco, and Carlo—stepping up to take the reins.
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The accident that changed everything
In September 2020, the Valastro family faced a nightmare that had nothing to do with a falling wedding cake. While spent time with his family at their home bowling alley, the pinsetter malfunctioned. Buddy tried to fix it—something he’d done a hundred times before—but his right hand got caught and impaled by a metal rod.
It was gruesome. The rod went right through his dominant hand, between his ring and middle finger. His sons had to use a saw to cut him free.
As of January 2026, Buddy has undergone six surgeries to repair the damage. He recently shared an update on Instagram showing that he has regained about 95% of his functionality, though he joked that his middle finger is still a bit crooked. For a guy whose entire life depends on fine motor skills and piping frosting, the recovery is nothing short of a miracle. He even decorated a 24th-anniversary cake for his wife, Lisa, while his hand was still bandaged from his final procedure in late 2025.
What most people get wrong about Carlo's Bakery
A common misconception is that the Hoboken shop is the only place Buddy works. Actually, the "Cake Boss" empire has scaled massively. While the original Washington Street location is still a tourist mecca, many of the satellite shops in places like Mohegan Sun and various New Jersey malls have shuttered over the last couple of years.
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The business has pivoted. Instead of just storefronts, they’ve leaned heavily into:
- Cake ATMs: These refrigerated vending machines are popping up in malls and airports from Las Vegas to Toronto.
- Nationwide Shipping: They’ve perfected the art of mailing a rainbow cake without it arriving as a pile of crumbs.
- Buddy V’s Ristorante: Buddy has moved into the savory world with Italian restaurants, most notably in Las Vegas.
The "family" is still the core
Despite the glitz of the newer A&E shows, the cast we grew up with is mostly still around. Mauro Castano, Buddy’s right-hand man and brother-in-law, remains a fixture in the business. He’s also had his own health journey, losing over 200 pounds after a serious health scare involving a bleeding ulcer back in 2015.
The passing of the family matriarch, Momma Mary, in 2017 after a long battle with ALS was the real turning point for the show. It was the moment the series lost its "heart," and Buddy even took a hiatus because returning to the Hoboken shop without her was too painful.
Moving forward with the Dynasty
If you're looking for that nostalgic Cake Boss fix, the old seasons are still cycling through streaming platforms like Max and Discovery+. But the 2026 version of Buddy Valastro isn't just a baker; he’s a mogul.
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He's currently hosting Cake Toppers on the FYI network and appearing in Legends of the Fork, where he travels the country to find the best local eats. The era of the small-town baker is gone, replaced by a multi-million dollar brand that survived the kind of injury that should have ended it all.
How to keep up with the crew now
If you want the real, unfiltered look at how they’re doing, skip the TV edits and check their socials. Buddy is incredibly active on Instagram and TikTok, often posting behind-the-scenes clips of his physical therapy or his kids learning the trade.
To see the legacy in person, you can still visit the Hoboken shop, but be prepared for a line that wraps around the block. If you just want the cake without the wait, look for one of those Cake ATMs—it’s the most "2026" way to experience a piece of TV history.
The hustle hasn't changed. The scale has.