Bakery AE Pacey and Son in Spalding, Lincolnshire looks set to close after 100 years in business.
Current owners Richard and Eileen Pacey placed the family-run business up for sale six months ago as they are looking to retire.
Speaking to British Baker, Richard Pacey said they had received a lot of enquiries, but no serious offers.
The bakery was established by Albert Pacey, Richard’s grandfather, in 1909 when it was based in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. It was then moved to Spalding four years later, initially on New Road, before moving again to Red Lion Street in 1916.
Pacey took over from his father in 1978, having gained a bakery qualification from the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, now Anglia Ruskin University.
Employing six staff, the bakery supplies white and brown loaves, bread rolls, currant buns, morning goods such as scones, as well as filled rolls, which are popular with consumers.
Pacey said: “Bread is not as strong as it used to be. In my grandfather’s day it was the main thing, and everyone lived on bread produced by local people. We have a loyal following, but it’s not a patch on what it was. Our smaller items like baps and rolls are popular.”
The bakery still uses its original Alfred Hunt coal-fired oven, installed in 1916, though Pacey believes a new owner would replace it. “Cleaning it out is a lot of work, and maintenance is a problem as there’s nobody around these days who knows much about it,” he said.
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