Jenny Lee Bakery to close operations

Jenny Lee Bakery will close its two retail locations in the region and end its bakery operations Saturday, bringing to an end a company that has made and sold baked goods in Pittsburgh since 1875.

The closing will mean the loss of 36 jobs.

"Tough economic times and intense volatility in the ingredient market have provided the final challenges that Jenny Lee Bakery can no longer overcome," Bernie Baker, company president, said in a statement today announcing the closing.

Both the Market Square, Downtown, and McKees Rocks stores will close at 3 p.m. Saturday.

This is the latest problem that the bakery endured, but a devasting fire on Thanksgiving Day in 2006 forced the bakery to close operations for more than four months and miss the busy Christmas season that year.

The Baker family decided to use insurance proceeds to repair and improve its McKees Rocks bakery, but by the time Jenny Lee reopened in April 2007, it had lost half of its 100-employee workforce and clientele to other competitors.

At one time, in the 1960s and 1970s, Jenny Lee had 14 retail stores, and during the 1980s and 1990s, it began suppying many supermarkets with fresh baked goods.

It also began a commercial bakery manufacturing operation with gourmet cinnamon swirl breads and distributed the product in area stores. Jenny Lee also partnered with King's Restaurant to feature this product as French Toast on its menu.