By Nathan Duke
Bayside community leaders said they were glad to see that a bakery would move into the Bell Boulevard site formerly occupied by Marretta’s Bakery, where a bank had originally been proposed for construction.
Marretta’s closed its operations in October 2007 after more than 30 years of providing savory baked goods to Bayside residents from its storefront at 41−06 Bell Blvd. Bagels & Bake, on the other side of 41st Avenue, recently moved several blocks away.
Judith Limpert, the Bayside Business Association co−president, recently said that Marretta’s former site was one of several neighborhood locales where new banks would be built.
But George Stertsios, owner of Martha’s Country Bakery sites in Astoria and Forest Hills, said he would open a third bakery at the Marretta’s site in January.
“I saw that Marretta’s had closed and how the neighborhood did not have many mom−and−pop stores around, especially bakeries,” Stertsios said. “So, we’ll do a lot of typical old American classics. When people come in, they’ll have a choice of 200 different items to choose from.”
Stertsios’ bakery will offer coffee, velvet cakes, cupcakes, croissants, cookies, gelato, birthday cakes, spinach pies, banana pudding, strudels and pound cakes, Martha’s specialty.
The bakery, founded by Stertsios’ mother, Martha, in 1972 in Manhattan, also operates upscale stores on Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria and Austin Street in Forest Hills. The new Bayside store will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight.
Bayside leaders said they were pleased that a new bakery would replace Marretta’s.
“Marretta’s was a sad loss,” said Jerry Iannece, the former Community Board 11 chairman running for City Council in 2009. “A bakery is a welcome addition and will bring in pedestrian traffic. It lends itself to the small village environment that Bell Boulevard wants to create.”
Steve Newman, CB 11’s chairman, said he was glad that the national economic downturn was not preventing new businesses from opening in the community.
“It’s nice that in the present economic environment there are still people going forward to open new businesses,” he said.
Stertsios said Martha’s Bayside site would include all−new equipment and feature eight bakers.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e−mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 156.
