Beloved Oakland County Bakery Closing After 108 Years

OAK PARK, MI — A beloved Oakland County bakery is shutting down after 108 years in business.

Star Bakery, known for their Jewish baked goods, will close its location on the Coolidge Highway in Oak Park on July 2. The bakery was founded in 1915.

The bakery's owners, Daniel Buckfire, David Schechter and Stacy Fox, said the rising costs of ingredients and labor, as well as lingering difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to shut down the bakery.

"It was a very hard decision to close, and we did everything we could to try to save Star Bakery and make it profitable," said Buckfire. "Wholesale was always a significant part of the business at Star Bakery, and we determined that we were no longer competitive on this side of the business."

The owners did note, however, Star Bakery's sister bakery, Diamond Bakery in West Bloomfield will remain open and continue serving selling Star Bakery's breads, including rugelach, kichel and mandel bread.

"We felt that Diamond Bakery, with its location in West Bloomfield and its strong retail business and brand name, gives us the best chance to operate a neighborhood Jewish-style bakery successfully," said Buckfire.