Homemade Pies, 2012
One of the sad things about photographing old places is that when you go back again some of the places you photographed before will be gone. Or closed, as is the case with the bakery above.
I first photographed this bakery in 2003. It probably had a name, but I never knew what it was. I was photographing the church across the street and looked over and noticed people coming and going from the bakery. Once I noticed it I also noticed that sweet smell that hovers around bakeries.
I’ve been back to the neighborhood on a number of occasions since that time. But it was only this past Saturday that I happened to walk by the old bakery and discover that it had closed several years ago.
It looks like all the equipment a baker would need to re-open the place is still in place. Even the glass display cases looks no more than a little dusty for having been last wiped in 2009. The signs touting “Homemade Pies” and “Best Coffee in Town” are still in the window. It’s not a big place. Lots of people live nearby. You’d think someone could make a go of it.
But the truth is this is probably not a neighborhood that can support an artisanal baker selling $9 loaves of bread. So the bakery will probably join the list of other businesses—the grocery store, the book store, the bike shop and so on—that were once a lively part of the social fabric of this neighborhood but now serve no one. There are no homemade pies today and the coffee urn is cold.
Bakery, 2012
Closed, 2012
Posts
Your photos tell a sweet story. And since I was there, I know what a dull overcast day it was. I still marvel at your ability to make clear, sharp, enticing photos out of your raw material.
ReplyDeleteThey do; I agree. They often elicit real emotions. Sad about the bakery closing--I love a good bakery. I used to think I wanted to run one, but I'd probably weigh a ton--I'm a sucker for baked goods, and have to make myself be good!
ReplyDeleteI remember it well. Nice story.
ReplyDeleteSweet Temptations Bakery