WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- A 68-year-old West Chester bakery business is closing its doors for good this spring, and more than 100 employees will be affected.
Bakery Crafts LLC, a manufacturer and retailer of high-quality cake decorations, filed notice with the state of Ohio this week that it's closing its facility at 9300 Allen Road.
The move is expected to be permanent.
A total of 119 employees will be affected, the notice said, and layoffs will occur in waves. The first round will begin April 5. Additional cuts will be made in May, June and July.
The workers are not represented by a union.
Connie Dirheimer, vice president of human resources and operations at Bakery Crafts, declined comment when contacted by WCPO.com.
Bakery Crafts was founded in Cincinnati in 1947 by Natalie and Jack Guttman; ownership transitioned to their three children, Sam, Dan and Debbie, in the early 1980s.
In June 2015, Bakery Crafts was acquired by Minnesota-based DecoPac Inc., a supplier of cake decorations to professional cake decorators and bakeries. At that time, DecoPac officials had "no plans for facility consolidation or leadership changes at either organization." The Guttmans were expected to retire.
"This is simply a change in ownership and we will continue to serve customers from our two locations,” Mike McGlynn, DecoPac’s CEO, said in a statement. "However, we will focus on how we can make it easier for customers to do business with our two companies and further strengthen service.”
Recent social media posts for the companies only reference that Bakery Crafts products are now available from DecoPac.com. Bakery Craft-licensed products included Pokémon, Angry Birds, Hello Kitty, Transformers, Sesame Street and My Little Pony, and its product line included decorating kits, edibles, photo imaging systems, candles, wedding cake toppers, ornaments and more.
