There's nothing like the smell of fresh-baked bread, cookies and other treats that comes from a bakery. That pleasant odor will undoubtedly be missed by loyal patrons of the Keystone Bakery shops in Monongahela and Charleroi, which are closing after serving Valley customers for decades. The Charleroi shop had been open since 1977, and the Monongahela store had been in place since 1968, so both were valuable to their respective towns. "We've been a part of those communities for a long time," said Keystone manager M.E. Countouris in announcing the closings, "and we've enjoyed being a part of those communities and serving those communities." We can't fault Keystone Bakery for deciding to close these locations. It was undoubtedly a business decision made for valid reasons. More and more companies are consolidating services and scaling back their operations to remain competitive. We feel badly for the seven part-time or full-time employees who were laid off due to the closures. We hope their time out of work will be short-lived. Keystone Bakery will continue to operate its main location in Monessen and its shop in Rostraver, and customers with a sweet tooth will continue to delight in their baked goods. But it's an unpleasant feeling to see stores closing when they have been a part of our communities for so long Patrons in Charleroi and Monongahela will now have to travel to enjoy Keystone's wares. The two shops will be missed.

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