George's Jamaican Bakery in Baldwin to close after 36 years amid rising rent, competition

The Baldwin community bid a bittersweet goodbye to the Yee Kee family’s bakery on Saturday — a slice of Jamaica on Long Island for more than three decades.

George’s Jamaican Bakery, on Grand Avenue, built its reputation on its warm hard dough bread, baking 132 loaves a week alongside staples like beef patties and Karen Yee Kee’s famous banana bread.

"It is what I go there for every Saturday morning and what my children eat every day of the week ... It’s always wonderful to be able to go to a specific place to get something that makes you feel a little bit closer to home," said longtime customer Novia Ramsay, 50, of Freeport.

A community cornerstone

Brian Yee Kee’s parents started the business in Hempstead in 1989. He and his wife, Karen Yee Kee, bought it from them six years later and relocated it to Baldwin.

Brian and Karen Yee arrived at the bakery each morning by 6:30 and stayed past closing at 7 p.m., never hiring any additional staff. Their sons Matt and Connor grew up helping behind the counter.

Holidays were particularly busy for the family, because they received a lot of Christmas and Thanksgiving orders.

"God forbid it’s Christmas morning, and you have no hard dough on the table. That’s like a cardinal sin for Jamaicans," said Karen, 60, of Baldwin.

Over the years, the bakery became more than a business — it became a source of comfort and connection for the community. Ramsay described the bakery as having a warm atmosphere, with Brian playing old reggae classics while customers chatted with one another and with the couple.

"Throughout the years we’ve built a bit of a repertoire ... we know a lot of [our customers] by their names, a lot of them by their faces," said Brian, 58.

Karen reflected upon one customer in particular who would often come in for patties after school when she first started. Now, he’s married with children.

"That’s the best part of my job — the customers, my community," Karen said. "I will miss them."

Audrie Hall, 61, of Syosset, stopped by the bakery on Friday evening to say goodbye to the couple. Hall went to high school with Karen in Kingston, Jamaica, and said she’d visit the bakery every Saturday morning for warm bread before moving out of the neighborhood.

"I’m crushed that it’s closing," Hall said. "They have very authentic food. The hard dough bread was the best you could get anywhere."

Turning the page

Faced with rising rent and more local competition, the couple gave up their lease after years of trying to sell the business and a growing desire to rest.

"We can’t afford to retire, unfortunately. But I would love to have something where I have more time in my life," Karen said. "I can get home earlier, get off my feet, have my weekends back."

The two had hoped to sell the bakery and pass along their hard dough recipe.

On Friday, Ramsay brought her children to the bakery to say goodbye. On the ride home, she said, her 13-year-old asked: "Where are we going to get hot bread now?' "

While Ramsay said she was sad to see George’s Jamaican Bakery go, she said she’s also excited for the Yee Kees' next chapter.

"They instilled hard work in their children. Seeing how hard they worked every single day to give them the American dream — a better life — it’s just wonderful. I hope they have the opportunity to rest now," Ramsay said.