JUNE 29 • 2023 | 29
S
tar Bakery (26031
Coolidge Highway, Oak
Park) will be closing on
July 2, the bakery’s owners Daniel
Buckfire, David Schechter and
Stacy Fox announced.
Due to the rising costs of both
labor and ingredients, and contin-
ued difficulties left over from the
pandemic, the business could no
longer remain viable.
Buckfire, Schechter and Fox
purchased Star Bakery in July
2021, and then Diamond Bakery
(6722 Orchard Lake Road, West
Bloomfield) in November 2021.
Stacy Fox, the previous owner of
Marty’s Cookies in Birmingham,
is managing partner for both Star
and Diamond Bakeries, but mov-
ing forward will be a consultant
for Diamond Bakery.
Star Bakery, which was found-
ed in 1915, was well known to
generations of Detroiters for
providing traditional Jewish-style
baked goods such as rye breads,
challahs, rolls, rugelach, sev-
en-layer cake and mandel bread.
Now, production of some of the
bakery’s favorite recipes will con-
tinue at Diamond Bakery. There
will be job losses, but it is hoped
some positions will be trans-
ferred to Diamond Bakery.
“It was a very hard decision to
close, and we did everything we
could to try to save Star Bakery
and make it profitable,
” Buckfire
said. “Wholesale was always a
significant part of the business at
Star Bakery, and we determined
that we were no longer competi-
tive on this side of the business.
”
Fox explained that as the cost
of many ingredients went up
along with labor costs, whole-
sale customers chose to go with
machine-made products rather
than the artisanal bread made
by Star Bakery. “We understand
these economic decisions, but a
small bakery can’t compete with
big manufacturers,
” she said.
Buckfire and Schechter are,
however, committed to maintain-
ing a traditional bakery in the
Metro Detroit area. “We felt that
Diamond Bakery, with its loca-
tion in West Bloomfield and its
strong retail business and brand
name, gives us the best chance
to operate a neighborhood
Jewish-style bakery successfully,
”
Buckfire said.
Diamond Bakery will contin-
ue to sell some of Star Bakery’s
favorite baked goods, including
its breads, rugelach, kichel and
mandel bread.
Jewish-Style
Bakery Closing
Star Bakery in Oak Park
announces it will close July 2.
ALISON SCHWARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS