Bakery

Every town has its magnet, a watering hole that draws people of influence, elected officials and self-appointed community watchdogs. In Bel Air, the magnet with the strongest pull is an unlikely place with peeling wallpaper, no windows and a commode that's perpetually out of order.Despite its humble appearance, the back room of the Bel Air Bakery on Bond Street is the coffee spot of choice for the town's chief of police, the mayor, trash collectors, computer technicians, the unemployed, attorneys, surgeons, the county sheriff and people who sell balloons for a living.

Fred B. "Fritz" Cohn, a kosher baker who created the recipe for the coffeecake his children still make and sell, died Saturday of a heart blockage at Northwest Hospital Center. The Reisterstown resident was 82. Born in Leipzig, Germany, Mr. Cohn had wanted to follow his father and become a physician. But the Nazis had come to power and forbade Jews from entering medical school. His children said Mr. Cohn became an apprentice to a baker whose business was on the ground floor of the building where they lived -- and that he never forgot the training.

The New System Bakery in Hampden employs a very effective sales device: It leaves some windows open.At daybreak, the scents of honey-dipped doughnuts, raisin-cinnamon bread and Parker House rolls drift over 36th Street just east of Roland Avenue, attracting customers. By midafternoon, many of the products from the bakery's ovens are gone, devoured by those who swear by this house of flour."We survive today because we make everything from scratch. The cherries in our pies were cooked in that copper pot," says owner Bernard Breighner, pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

William T. Beever, former owner of The Bake Shop in Glen Burnie, died of a respiratory illness Thursday at Easton Memorial Hospital. He was 77 and lived at Chester River Beach in Grasonville. Mr. Beever was born in Baltimore, where he spent part of his youth. He was a graduate of Glen Burnie High School. He was 14 when he began his apprenticeship at the bakery he would later own. From 1943 to 1947, he served in the Navy as an electrician and was stationed in Guam, Hawaii and South America.

From bakery to bistro?That's what Billy Himmelrich has in mind for Stone Mill Bakery.The successful bread maker -- whose crusty wonders are in the trendiest gourmet shops and restaurants around town -- is planning to soon "do" dinner at his Greenspring Station spot.Although he's keeping mum about the menu, we hear it's going to be French with a modern twist. At the moment, he's adding a line of prepared foods -- including ratatouille, salad nicoise and wild mushroom soup -- to his Mount Washington and Greenspring locations.

The Otterbein's Family Bakery has changed a lot since it opened in Baltimore in 1881, from a modest storefront pastry shop to a factory operation that churned out about 7 million cookies last year for grocery stores and vending machines. But one thing hasn't changed: The sweet contents of Otterbein's red-and-white bags still are shepherded to market by the family that started it all. Mark Otterbein, who runs the Windsor Mill-based operation, represents the fourth generation of his family to run the bakery, which celebrated its 125th anniversary this month.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. will close its Baltimore bakery -- its last bread, pie and cake operation in the United States -- in December, marking the end of an era for what was once one of the nation's biggest bakers.The planned Dec. 18 closure of the A&P bakery on North Franklintown Road will eliminate about 210 jobs in a city that's been hammered by factory closures and layoffs in recent months.A&P said it was selling the bakery to locally based H&S Bakery Inc. and would be ordering goods from H&S to produce A&P stores' private label baked goods.

Anthony Marinelli, the last of the old-time Little Italy bakers who supplied bread to restaurants and several generations of Baltimoreans, died Easter Sunday of complications of diabetes at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 85.Each day for more than 50 years, Mr. Marinelli baked more than 800 loaves at his Central Avenue bakery in back of the rowhouse where he lived most of his life.Mr. Marinelli ceased taking an active role in the bakery about two years ago, turning over its daily operation to a group of Thais.

New System Bakery, a Hampden institution famous for its raisin bread and other old-fashioned treats, has closed its doors, but will reopen soon under new ownership.Yesterday, the operators of Sam's Bagels stores in the area said they have acquired the New System Bakery from Grace and Bernard Breighner, and are taking steps to reopen it under the same name early next month.David Knox, who took over the bakery two years ago, said he was forced to go out of business last week after falling behind on the rent.

Not even halfway into its premiere season, the reality show Ace of Cakes has been picked up by the Food Network for a second season based on its impressive ratings and appeal of its star, Baltimore cake maker Duff Goldman. The show, which is centered on Goldman's bakery, Charm City Cakes, has become one of the Food Network's top five shows and debuted last month to an audience of 1.7 million viewers. The cable channel has ordered 13 more episodes for a second season to begin in January.