Coming soon to a currently vacant storefront at 1624 Fifth Ave is "Lanie Be'es Shakes n' Bakes", a combo bakery and smoothie shop from Cherie Marcucci of Watervliet. Marcucci received approval to open the shop at the October Planning Board meeting and plans to open at the end of November.

"My dad used to bake and I would help him a lot and it became a passion of mine," said Marcucci, who currently sells baked goods at Michael's Clubhouse in East Greenbush (the cake on the left is from the Lanie Be'es Facebook page).

Marcucci said she is particularly excited about the Shakes part of Shakes n' Bakes, saying that she was actually interested in taking over Shake Shake Mama's, formerly of Broadway in Troy, when it closed in 2008, but the time wasn't right.

"I've definitely been working towards this for a while," she said, adding that she is a single mother of three and also works full time in addition to growing her business. (The name "Lanie Be'es" comes from a nickname for her daughter.) The new shop will create up to five jobs and, according to the Planning Department staff report, will include a $10,000 investment.

"I'm really looking to attract college students," said Marcucci. "The shop will have a healthy, fun attitude."

The website for the shop, www.laniebeesshakesnbakesvpweb.com appears to not be up yet, so for now check out the Facebook page for more information.