A MUCH-LOVED Tavistock bakery is to close this week after serving the town for more than 30 years.
Bill the Baker, in Pym Street, will turn off its ovens this Saturday due to an increasing workload and staffing shortages.
Bill 'the Baker' Foster said he had taken the decision as he felt he could no longer offer the same quality service on which he had always prided himself because the bakery did not have enough staff.
'I'm very upset to go, but it is time to call it a day,' said Bill. He said baking was a 'dying art', and feared that quality family bakeries will not exist ten years from now.
Bill said the current staff had been as 'good as gold', and he could not have carried on for so long without all their co-operation and help.
However, with Christmas approaching and a shortage of staff to meet the increased seasonal demand, Bill said he had little option but to close the bakery. He felt he had to consider his wife and their quality of life.
Many regular customers were very
disappointed that the bakery was set to close.
'I am glad that people appreciate all the hard work,' said Bill, adding that he had made many good friends in Tavistock over the years.
Bill said he was planning a 'change of direction', intending to move to France and become a fruit farmer.
The baker is still safely looking after the ancient hot cross bun baked 173 years ago, which he put on display to raise money for charity this Easter.
As reported in the Times in April, the bun was believed to have been baked in a Stepney bun house, and Bill says he may return the antique to the site of the original bakery which is now home to a pub.