Nomada Bakery, recently named the No.1 cake shop in the nation by the readers of USA Today, has been a Huntington hot spot for nearly six years.
By Chrissy Nelson Preservati
HQ 131 | AUTUMN 2025
Nomada (en español): a person who has no permanent abode, who travels from place to place.
The soft clinks of spoons on china welcome visitors into the antique lobby. The savory aromas of bread and cappuccino blend smoothly with the sound of steaming milk and soft voices. The old swinging kitchen door squeaks on its hinges as trays of freshly baked empanadas travel from the warm oven to hungry patrons. Shortbread layered with dulce de leche and sweet almond croissants catch the eye, until a buttercream cake steals the show.
The sheer amount of baked perfection can be daunting for customers needing to make quick decisions, but that’s just what Nomada Bakery co-owner Ariel Barcenas counts on. Originally from Panama, Barcenas’ artistic vision and culinary skills have lots of people talking in Huntington and well beyond. In July, USA Today named Nomada the No. 1 Cake Shop in the Nation, a recognition awarded through the publication’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
Whether it was destiny or a nod from the baking gods that landed Barcenas in Huntington really doesn’t matter. His unique style, rich with influences from Panama and Argentina, is a huge hit.
But it was a long journey with unexpected turns that brought him to this point. At the age of 20, Barcenas left home to attend film school in Argentina. Here, a chance meeting with Ph.D. student Shawn Schulenberg changed the course of both of their lives. The two shared a zest for travel, a nomadic spirit and a positive outlook. They also shared a willingness to take leaps of faith. When Schulenberg was offered a faculty position at Marshall University, the couple didn’t even know where Huntington, West Virginia, was on a map. There was something about the interview, though, that felt just right. The couple relocated together and were married that same year.
Upon arriving in West Virginia, Barcenas instinctively gravitated toward food as a way to create community. He began hosting small brunches and dinners at his house.
“I’m from a large Latin American family. I was always helping my grandmother cook,” Barcenas explained. On his grandmother’s farm in Panama, meals were almost always made from scratch with fresh ingredients. “When I realized I could not get her food here, I had to figure out how I could create a similar experience.”
Experimenting with the fresh flavors he remembered from home, Barcenas honed his natural talent for cooking and baking while his new friends reaped the benefits. These friends became his biggest fans and were the ones who encouraged him to start his bakery. And a gift from his mother-in-law came at just the right time.
“Shawn’s mother gave me a KitchenAid mixer, and one day I made a chocolate cake,” he recalled. “That was the turning point that made me believe I could be a baker. The chocolate cake started everything.”
Working tirelessly, and with his husband’s help as co-owner, Barcenas located a space and opened Nomada Bakery. Six months later, COVID-19 threw the world into lockdown. Over the next 15 months, the couple came to understand just how deeply the Huntington community supported them.
“The people kept us in business,” said Schulenberg. “Even when we weren’t sure we would make it, they kept showing up. We could not have survived without this community.”
Nearing its sixth anniversary, Nomada Bakery is hitting its stride — its “sweet spot,” you might say. In addition to people raving about Barcenas’ baking brilliance, local residents are also bragging about his bakery’s lunch menu. Lunchtime regulars leave the shop with satisfied smiles, one murmuring to another, “That chicken salad might be the best I’ve ever had.”
Now more in demand than ever, Ariel Barcenas spends his days nimbly juggling orders for birthday parties, corporate events, patio lunches and, of course, the daily crowd of people seeking a peaceful spot for a morning coffee.
Barcenas glides through his bakery with an easy smile and relaxed confidence. It is clear from the energy in the room that he has a way of creating magic wherever he goes. His patrons return because Barcenas has a gift for creating more than just delicious tastes — he creates experiences that are meaningful. When asked to cater a themed event, Barcenas taps into his filmmaking roots and studies the colors, textures and mood of the project. The result is a scene rich in detail that delights clients, though it often requires hours of tedious preparation.
“It’s so exciting to see the ‘Aha!’ moment when my staff sees the finished product,” Barcenas said. “When they see the total picture, they understand why they had to scoop out 50 lemons for just the right dessert. They get it.”
If you ask him where his knack for the exquisite comes from, he might say it comes from his grandmother’s kitchen or the Argentinian streets lined with cafés. But more likely, it is a combination of having an artist’s soul and a keen ability to recognize what people like — and a few things that they don’t yet know to like.
“They told me that people would not want to buy a ‘Baby Cake’ — they would only want a big cake,” laughed Barcenas. But he decided to trust his gut, and now the “Baby Cake” is Nomada’s signature item. Regular-sized cakes, too, are in great demand and are best ordered a couple of days in advance. Whether you choose carrot cake, lemon blueberry, chocolate or one of the many other flavors offered by Nomada, the intricately layered deliciousness of Barcenas’ cakes brings a sophisticated sparkle to any type of celebration.
It is a little ironic that a bakery named after the wandering spirit of the nomad has found a permanent home in Huntington. But for those who know Barcenas and Schulenberg, it’s no surprise that Nomada has become a huge success. The fact is, these two would be successful wherever they decided to put down roots — and Huntingtonians are just glad that it was here.
Nomada Bakery is located at 210 11th St., Heritage Station, in Huntington, West Virginia. Nomada is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.
To place an order online, visit www.nomadabakery.com.
