Historic Hank’s Bakery closes doors for the final time
Published on February 27th, 2008
A 95-year-old institution located snugly at 403 Main Street in Stoneham Square closed their shutters for the last time last weekend.
Hank’s Bakery, in business baking Finnegans, turnovers and frosted clown cookies -- among other confectionary delights -- since 1913, closed their doors for the final time as Ozzie and Pam Ortiz opted to close down the bakery business and possibly leave for a location in another town.
It was essentially a bittersweet moment for Stoneham residents that have been frequenting the bakery all their lives, and for the Ortiz family that has made Stoneham their home it’s a decision they had been hoping wouldn’t eventually happen.
“We’ve seen a lot of people over the last couple of days coming by to say goodbye and that part is really sad for us,” said Ortiz. “I know people wanted us to keep the place open, but if a lot of those people came in every day then we probably wouldn’t have to close. It’s tough. This is definitely not something we wanted to do, but it’s not easy to own a business in Stoneham these days.
“We don’t feel like we got a lot of help from the town, and that really forced us into making our decision. We couldn’t keep losing money like we had been over the last year,” added Ortiz. “We’re hoping to open up again, but I can guarantee it won’t be for at least another six months and it definitely won’t be in Stoneham.”
The couple has been readily outspoken about the change of enforcement for parking in the square, and felt like those fundamental changes for the local business community signaled the beginning of the end for their business.
That combined with some general hassles from the local licensing boards when they changed over to Italian food and pizza-making left the baking couple with a collective bad taste in their mouths.
“We’ve been thinking about for probably six months because we knew our lease was up and we needed to sign another five year lease,” said Ortiz, who was a constant smiling presence in the bakery each morning and afternoon. “It’s a very sad feeling because this bakery has been in Stoneham for such a long time, but we just couldn’t do it anymore. The changes in parking in the Square really hurt our business in the mornings, and it never recovered.
The bakery was run by the husband and wife team of Joe and Beverly Beane for nearly 60 years before it was sold to Gavin and Denise Symes in 2000, and then leased out to the Ortiz for the last five years where Green Mountain Coffee and pizza was added to the abundance of baked goods.
Al Symes still owns the building, and it remains to be seen if someone else opts to take on the vacant property and keep it a bakery. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the now-vacant building, but if another baking outfit doesn’t come along it will leave Stoneham Square without a bakery for the first time in nearly a century.
The Ortiz family was looking forward to taking a break and possibly a vacation after leaving Hank’s, and were already considering a spot in Reading while keeping an open mind toward opening up in other neighboring towns.
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