SWEET MEMORIES FILL AIR AS BAKERY CLOSES
Butternut Bakery turns off ovens after 53 years of tasty business as owner retires
Melissa Kassab has been working at her parents’ Butternut Bakery in Center Line since she was a child.
“I grew up here,” said Kassab. “It makes me sad that my kids are not going to be able to have that experience, but I understand why my parents want to retire.”
Kassab was working the bakery counter one last time on Saturday as the store was filled with longtime customers stopping in to say goodbye to owners Desa and Vano Acovski and stock up on their favorite breads and pastries.
“I’m kind of a bread snob so the breads are probably my favorite thing that we make,” Kassab said. “The bread you buy in the supermarket to me is not bread.
“I told my mom I want the bread slicer from here.”
Desa announced in January the bakery would be closing “sometime after Easter.” Since then business at the already-busy bakery has been brisker than usual and when it was made known April 20 would be its last day, foot traffic increased even
more.
“Usually, the beginning of the year is kind of slow because it is after Christmas and then you’ve got Lent and people are fasting so that tends to be a slower time,” said Desa. “There was no fasting this year judging by how busy we’ve been.
“And this week I had to call in extra reinforcements — my sister Rose and my daughter — because since Tuesday we have been
non stop.”
Brendan Baber favors the cream filled, chocolate-covered long john doughnuts and was in line Saturday morning to indulge one last time. Baber grew up less than a mile away from Butternut Bakery and said his family has been going there ever since he can remember.
“I feel like I kind of grew up coming here,” said Baber. “I teach Autistic adult students in Hazel
Park and many times, coming to the Butternut Bakery was a field trip to give them an opportunity to develop social and communication skills.
“It is a place where people feel comfortable.”
Mid-morning just as a tray of fresh-baked lemon meringue pies were being brought out from the back kitchen, David Hypnarowicz stepped into the bakery and announced he was recording on Facebook live.
“This is my son’s favorite bakery and I heard it is the last day so I’m picking up some goodies and taking them to Jackson where he lives now,” said Hypnarowicz. “We lived near Eight Mile and Van Dyke for many, many years and this was always our bakery.”
Hypnarowicz ordered multiple loaves of bread and a dozen doughnuts and considered which other items he should add to his order.
Chrusciki, prune danish, butter cookies, pineapple upside down cake, apple fritters, cannolis, the possibilities were endless.
Tina Buggert left the bakery with two large boxes of delectable treats. Her favorites are the