CENTRAL JERSEY — Dreams of eating confections such as sugar plums, biscotti, rugelach, cannoli, Grand Marnier cake and yule logs still come true throughout the December holidays, but it's become a struggle for independent bakers to make their creative business a profitable livelihood.
The current economic doldrums do not completely answer the question of why, said Paul Sapienza, vice president of Operations for the Retail Bakers of America, and himself the owner of the Sapienza Bake Shop in Elmont, N.Y.
"The trouble started a long time ago, 30 years ago. In the 1970s there were 30,000 independent bakeries nationwide. Today, there are 6,000 independent bakeries nationwide," Sapienza explained.
To read the rest of this story please go to: The Courier News
