Longstanding Bay Ridge sweet shop Your Baker to close

Your Baker, a decades-old bakeshop at 518 86^th Street revered for its black and white cookies, will close come the end of the month, according to owners.

Nonetheless, brothers Victor and Angelo Saraniero—whose family has owned the bakery since 1980 and who also happen to be the building’s landlords—are hoping to attract new owners who will continue the Your Baker legacy.

“We’re hoping someone bites and takes the plunge,” explained younger brother Angelo, stressing that, while the Saranieros are in talks with a number of interested buyers, their ideal sale would be to another baker. “Our true wish is for Your Baker to continue.”

The sweet shop—open for more than 40 years at its current location—is rich with history.

“I would imagine that this establishment, under the name Your Baker, would go back 60 to 70 years,” he said, noting that many Brooklynites remember the bakery from its days at 13^th Avenue and 78^th Street. “The business moved to Bay Ridge in the mid-’70s and many of the customers continued to [frequent] our bakery.”

Furthermore, Angelo believes the Your Baker torch has been passed to at least three families since the store’s inception.

“We’d love to keep that going,” he said, stressing that nothing is set in stone—not even their close date. “We’re saying our official closing date is this Saturday, October 31 and we’re hoping to clear out but, if we have the goods to go a day or two more, it’ll happen.”

Some faithful patrons have taken to social media to express their grief.

“We have managed to control our sweet teeth and stay away but are now on borrowed time,” Facebook user Tashie Wonder wrote on the bakery’s page. “Praying for a miracle, and that either the baker has a change of heart or finds someone to take over with as much passion and quality as he has.”

Paulette Dignon shared similar sentiments on a Bay Ridge-based page.

“Sending them all the luck and best wishes,” she wrote, adding that the team at Your Baker hand-crafted her wedding cake 40 years ago. “They will be missed!”

The Saranieros say that, since the announcement was made in early October, the entire staff at Your Baker has been offered nothing but love and support.

“The outpouring of respect and kind words has been incredible,” said Angelo, noting that he and Victor have always strived to better Your Baker. “We’ve enjoyed such a wonderful reputation, and we just want to thank our customers for their decades of business. It was an honor to serve them.”