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