Iconic Entenmann’s factory set to shut down in NY

Bimbo Bakeries USA has assured customers that the closurewon’t affect either the quality or quantity of Entenmann’s products.

By ANNA HIATT
Entenmann's cookies (photo credit: PR)
Entenmann's cookies
(photo credit: PR)
NEW YORK – Hold onto your coffeecake. Entenmann’s oldest factory is closing.
The coffeecake maker’s parent company Bimbo Bakeries USA announced in March that the kosher-certified factory in Bay Shore, Long Island, would close, citing rising taxes, fuel prices, and the cost of electricity.
Operations shut down in mid-August. The factory employed nearly 300 workers.
Bimbo Bakeries USA has assured customers that the closure of the Bay Shore factory won’t affect either the quality or quantity of Entenmann’s products, and that all the sugary pastries Entenmann’s fans are accustomed to will be produced at other Bimbo Bakeries USA factories.
“The transition was smooth with no disruption to the marketplace. Service, quality and freshness continued to be excellent throughout the transition and we expect to continue to delight consumers on Long Island and across our markets,” said Bimbo Bakeries USA spokesman David Margulies.
In 1898, William Entenmann opened a bakery in Brooklyn. After his son became ill, William moved his family out to Bay Shore where he set up another bakery and quickly began making deliveries. Just west of the Hamptons, Entenmann’s delivered to some of America’s wealthiest and most well-known.
In 1961 the family expanded into Connecticut and New Jersey, and built the largest factory of its kind in Bay Shore on 5 acres of land.
In 2002, Bimbo Bakeries USA bought George Weston Ltd., which at that time owned Entenmann’s, as well as Thomas’ English muffins and bagels. Seven years later, in 2009, BBU’s parent company Grupo Bimbo acquired the Entenmann’s factory.
Bimbo Bakeries USA employs hundreds of people in Suffolk County, where Bay Shore is located, and more than 1,600 throughout New York State. The company will continue to host a sales center in Bay Shore.
Of the 265 people employed at the Entenmann’s factory, 178 will be affected by the closure, according to a press release announcing the closure in March.