By Ashley Yarchin
Creve Coeur (KSDK) - Kosher bagels, breads and an assortment of other baked goods have kept Pratzel's Bakery in business since 1912, but now the economy is taking them out of it.
"I am not Jewish, I'm Irish to be honest with you, but the Jewish bread is better than anything I've ever had," said Les McLaughlin, who has been among its most dedicated of hungry customers for over 30 years.
So, naturally, there were no mixed emotions here when he heard Pratzel's will close Sunday, January 30.
"Please don't close," McLaughlin pleaded to the owners. "I'm going to miss you terribly to say the least."
"When he told me, my eyes were tearing up also," said Lenny Kohn, who is one of the bakery's 200 or so wholesale customers. His Creve Coeur deli is home to Pratzel's only retail location.
"You could've given me a little bit more notice, more than five days," Kohn said. "The city's in a little pandemonium as far as kosher needs."
A dip in the economy left a hole in sales and so the owners of the bakery have been trying to sell the operation but have had no luck to this point.
"The restaurants, the hotels, country clubs, people didn't leave us but they shrunk and that 15 or 20 percent shrinkage was enough to tip the balance," said Ronnie Pratzel, who is a third generation owner, and admits it's tough to close up shop and let go of his 15 employees. "It's been pretty terrible."
No word yet on where the many businesses in our area will be getting their kosher baked goods.
KSDK