HAMILTON, Ohio — In the end, the decision to close the business came down to dollars and cents.
Scott Hubbard, manager of the Almond Sisters Bakery on High Street in Hamilton, said sales had been dwindling for months and the business was losing money.
“We did everything we could do within reason,” Hubbard said. “We had zero capital to work with.”
So Scott and his wife, Jenni, decided the bakery will close Oct. 10. The bakery started in 2012 when three sisters sold pastries at the local Farmer’s Market and opened nearly six years ago in the Artspace Hamilton Lofts building, 224 High St.
The owners aren’t selling off the baking equipment and Hubbard said: “It may not be over for us.”
He said foot traffic has decreased in downtown Hamilton over the last year or so. He blamed some of that on people working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the business announced Thursday on its Facebook page that it was with “deep, deep sadness” that it was closing in October, Hubbard said customers have been supportive, as they have the last nine years.
“They’re shocked, sad to see us go,” he said. “It’s been kind of overwhelming. I get emotional thinking about it.”
When the bakery opened in downtown Hamilton in 2012, it was owned and operated by Hamilton-area natives and sisters Jenni Hubbard, Brandi Carder and Stephanie Melton.
Hubbard and Carder had been operating a bakery at Forest Fair Village for a little over a year before deciding to move it downtown.
HOW TO GO
The Almond Sisters Bakery is in the heart of downtown Hamilton at 224 High St.
The bakery’s last day will be on Oct. 10.
For more information, visit the bakery’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AlmondSisters
