Oak Park’s old-school Star Bakery is closing up shop

Some of its goods like challah and rye bread will still be offered at West Bloomfield’s Diamond Bakery

Jun 20, 2023 at 10:29 am

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Courtesy photo

Star Bakery has been around since 1915.

A Jewish staple in Oak Park that’s been around for generations is shutting its doors in July.

Star Bakery at 26031 Coolidge Highway will serve its last loaf of rye on July 2. Owners Daniel Buckfire, David Schechter, and Stacy Fox cite rising costs of ingredients and labor for the closure, noting lingering difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Star Bakery was founded in 1915 and Buckfire, Schechter, and Fox purchased it in July of 2021.

“It was a very hard decision to close, and we did everything we could to try to save Star Bakery and make it profitable,” Buckfire said in a statement. “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.”

Some of the bakery’s fresh-baked Jewish goods like challah, rugelach, seven-layer cake, and mandel bread will still be produced at West Bloomfield’s Diamond Bakery, which is under the same ownership.

“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,” Buckfire said.

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Randiah Camille Green

After living in Japan and traveling across Asia, Randiah Camille Green realized Detroit will always be home. And when she says Detroit, she's talking about the hood, not the suburbs. She has bylines in Planet Detroit News , Bridge Detroit , BLAC magazine, and Model D .Her favorite pastimes are meditating on...