After 51 years, Conshohocken Italian Bakery closed its doors for good on Sunday, leaving a significant hole in the Philadelphia area’s sandwich scene, writes Michael Klein for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

For generations, the popular bakery supplied rolls to hundreds of shops in the region that make everything from cheesesteaks and roast porks to chicken Parms and hoagies, among much more.

The closure of the bakery, after the retirement of 85-year-old patriarch Dom Gambone, has left the local sandwich and bread-baking scene reeling. Its many customers, including Pudge’s, Mama’s, Phil & Jim’s, Mike’s BBQ, and Eve’s Lunch, now have to find an alternative source for their daily bread.

Many of those customers are family businesses that have been getting their bread from Conshohocken Italian Bakery for decades and are now mourning the break in tradition.

“Their rolls are a big part of what makes our sandwiches so good,” said Anthony Mashett of Eve’s. “I’m surprised they’re closing, I’m disappointed, but I understand. The family are good people and they need to do what’s best for themselves.”

The closure has left other bakeries scrambling to keep up with the rise in demand.

Read more about the impact after the Conshohocken Italian Bakery closed in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on MONTCO Today in October 2024.