Blondie's Bake Shop in Centerport to close
Oatmeal sandwich cookies at Blondie's Bake Shop in Centerport. Credit: Jess Kennaugh
Things in Centerport will be a little less sweet after Valentine’s Day: Blondie’s Bake Shop, the sunny, independently owned bakery that opened in 2011, is closing.
“I'm crushed,” said owner and baker Jess Riordan. “Unfortunately, the increasing costs of running a small, scratch bakery have made it impossible to continue operating while maintaining the level of quality our guests are accustomed to seeing from us.”
Riordan built the shop off her passion for baking and desserts. She grew up just outside Huntington village, and remembers post-dinner walks that always ended with a visit to a particular pastry shop. She snagged a dream job at a bakery in high school — and kept it for 13 years. During college, she preferred Bon Appétit magazine to Cosmopolitan and Vogue.
“The Little Blonde Shop,” as Riordan calls it, is a fixture in Centerport. Whether it was a morning coffee, a midday scone, a birthday cake or Halloween, Easter, and Christmas themed-treats that patrons ordered for holidays, Blondie’s was a local favorite.
After spending Valentine's Day selling the rose-colored, heart-shaped confections made in Riordan's kitchen, she will close her doors for good. Said Riordan, “I have truly loved my job since day one because of my customers.”
Blondie’s Bake Shop, 90A Washington Dr., Centerport, 631-424-4545, blondiesbakeshop.com
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
