Jenny Lee Bakery will close its two remaining stores and shut down operations at its McKees Rocks plant on Saturday, bringing to an end a business that has made and sold baked goods in Pittsburgh since 1938. The closings at the stores in Market Square, Downtown, and in McKees Rocks, plus the production plant, will eliminate 36 jobs. The retail outlets will remain open until 3 p.m. Saturday, the company said in an announcement Thursday. Bernie Baker, the founder's son and the company's president, blamed tough economic times, baking ingredient prices that doubled in recent months and the lingering impact of a Thanksgiving Day 2006 fire that closed the plant for more than four months. Baker said the business owes money to suppliers, but he is trying for an "orderly shutdown," settling Jenny Lee's accounts without a bankruptcy filing. "We owe some money, but we're not out real far with anybody," he said yesterday. The plant on Island Avenue will be sold though, "I'm not sure how much demand there is for a manufacturing plant in McKees Rocks." The fittingly named Baker family has made and sold baked goods in Pittsburgh since 1875, starting in the West End. Paul M. Baker founded Jenny Lee in 1938, borrowing the name from a Guy Lombardo song titled, "Sweet Jenny Lee from Sunny Tennessee." Downtown's Diamond Market was the original location, but rising demand led to the move in 1941 to McKees Rocks. Bernie Baker has worked full-time since 1967 in the family business, which now includes his son, Scott. Jenny Lee had a chain of 14 stores in the 1960s and '70s. As independent bakeries declined, the company closed most of its stores and turned in the 1980s to supplying supermarkets with its cinnamon and cinnamon raisin breads and other goods. The 2006 fire heavily damaged the plant. The Bakers decided to use their insurance proceeds to repair and improve the facility, but by the time it reopened in April 2007, the business had lost almost half of its 100 workers plus much of its clientele. In recent months, rising prices for wheat and other products, plus the weakened economy further hurt the business, one of the few remaining family-owned bakeries in the region. Flour rose from $17 for a 100-pound bag early this year to more than $50, though it recently declined a little, Bernie Baker said. He said Jenny Lee has been selling its breads to distributors that supply Kings Family Restaurants, plus smaller grocery stores and some Shop 'n Save supermarkets. "There is still bread in the pipeline. We sell it frozen, so it will be available for a while," he said. Downtown customers said yesterday they'll miss the Market Square bakery. "I guess the only benefit I'll get from the closing will be, I will lose some weight," joked Betsy Parks, who owns the nearby One Park Place Hair Salon and has been buying cookies, cakes and other items for more than 15 years. She may go to a new Dunkin Donuts, several storefronts away. Richard Teaster, of the North Side, said he too will look for an alternative, probably a bakery in his neighborhood. Paul Stout and his family traveled from Houston to attend his aunt's 80th birthday party. Stout, originally from Upper St. Clair, said he "couldn't pass up the opportunity for myself and my family to enjoy a Jenny Lee doughnut." Bernie Baker said he understands the owner of the Downtown building is looking for another bakery for Jenny Lee's space.

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