The bittersweet end of a beloved bakery

May 05, 2008 (The Philadelphia Inquirer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- -- There was "Cream Doughnut Guy," who stopped by Liscio's Bakery in Glassboro nearly every day on his way home from work for a sugary treat, soon after "DHL Brownie Man" had been there for his daily chocolate-iced brownie.

And then there was Betty Mason, 78, who had come by the storefront on High Street at least twice weekly for nearly her entire life for some good Italian bread, a few doughnuts, and maybe some sticky buns.

But sometime after the big post-church rush yesterday morning, the bake shop -- which has been called Liscio's Bakery for the last 10 years and which was the Elite Bakery for so many years before that no one can remember the original name of the place -- ceased operation.

The simple shop, with its L-shaped 1960s-era glass display cases and its handwritten signs, had been an anchor store in this college town's flagging downtown, a landmark that for decades drew customers for its fresh breads, rolls, cookies, decorated cakes, pastries and pizza/stromboli.

But it was the nuts-and-raisin-covered sticky buns, cream-filled doughnuts, and flaky cheese Danish that had them waiting in lines that stretched out the front door and down the block.

"You could count on the regulars, they always came in at the same time and we always knew what they wanted even before they ordered," said Megan McCulley, 20, who worked at the bakery for two years.

The thought made her colleague, Jamie Larkey, 20, smile. And then grow serious.

"A lot of people are really disappointed, really sad. People say the reason they like the bakery and stay living here in the downtown is because it has an old-time feel around here," Larkey said. "Now it'll be gone."

Chad Vilotti, vice president and co-owner of Liscio's, said the company decided to sell the property and expects to open a new retail store in Glassboro or one of two other locations in Gloucester County.

Vilotti said that the wholesale side of the business grew by 53 percent over the last year and that its two bakery and deli locations in Washington Township had been doing well. The company also has a massive production facility on Delsea Drive in Glassboro.

It had planned on staying awhile on High Street, though. But it wasn't meant to be.

"Someone approached us and made an offer and we couldn't turn it down," Vilotti said. "It's a real estate move."

Glassboro Mayor Leo McCabe said he hoped the bakery could find another site in the municipality, which is set to undergo a $100 million redevelopment, including a wide pedestrian-friendly boulevard and new businesses.

"A bakery fits in well with what we want in the future," said McCabe, who has been a longtime Liscio's customer. "Their rolls are very good. Everything they have is good."

Glassboro's Rowan Boulevard Project calls for the town to be restyled into "a quintessential college town," the developers say. Groundbreaking is planned for next month and will include off-campus student housing for Rowan University students near downtown.

"The Boulevard Project has to do with our wanting to bring the university closer to downtown," McCabe said. "We're making a wide boulevard with a large Barnes & Noble bookstore. We're also redeveloping High Street where the bakery is."

But Armand D'Auria, also known as "DHL Brownie Man," isn't buying it.

"It's really sad to see them destroy a little town, with real businesses like this, and replace them with the same kind of chain stores that you see everywhere else," D'Auria said. "Just because someone with a lot of money wants to come in here and change everything."

Contact staff writer Jacqueline L. Urgo at 609-823-9629 or jurgo@phillynews.com.

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