A 124-year-old Brooklyn bakery shut down suddenly, with its owner saying he wanted more time with family and did not want to continue the business outside the family. The owner also said he could not afford repairs for an Italian-made commercial bread oven and chose not to reapply for the state’s approval. State records show the bakery had repeated health-code violations for more than a year, including mold and mouse droppings. The state revoked the bakery’s license in January. The owner said he did not want to be portrayed negatively and blamed deteriorating health, mental stress, and the wear and tear of a century-old shop for ending production.
"James Caputo, proprietor of Caputo's Bake Shop in Carroll Gardens, told local news outlets in April that he decided to suddenly close up shop to spend more time with family. He noted that he couldn't shell out the dough needed to fix his Italian-made Logiudice commercial bread oven, either - and didn't want to pass the business on to someone outside the family to keep it alive."
"It turns out the bakery also had been plagued with state health-code violations ranging from mold to mouse droppings for more than a year, according to a Post analysis of records - with the historic bread shop's license revoked in January. "I just honestly didn't want to be cast in that light," Caputo, 54, told The Post when asked why he didn't mention the Department of Agriculture and Markets violations when talking to the press about closing. "I think anybody would have felt that way.""
"Caputo said he was confident that a re-inspection of his shop would have quickly returned his coveted license, and he blamed serious medical issues, mental stress of the job and the century-old bakery's wear-and-tear as reasons to hang up his apron and not re-apply for the state's approval. "I had done this for 25 years, and it's been a rough 25 years," he said. "My health had been deteriorating over the years, and it wasn't the physicality of the job: It was the mental stress, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.""
"On Monday morning, April 27, he taped his farewell letter on the bakery's door. "It is with immense sadness that I am writing to tell you the flame in our oven has been lit for the last time," he wrote, adding, "Last night was the last night of production.""
Read at New York Post
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