CUMBERLAND — M&M Bake Shop, a downtown staple and local favorite, has closed after nearly 60 years in business.
The business opened its doors in 1966 and had maintained its original downtown location on Baltimore Street ever since.
Owner Roger Lantz has decided to retire and sell the building. The bakery was passed down from his mother, Mary Lantz, in 1973.
“I’ve been lucky,” Lantz said Thursday. “Everybody’s been supporting me and it shocked me.”
“It’s been our life,” Elizabeth Lantz, co-owner and Roger’s wife, said.
Community concern
When the bakery announced a temporary closure March 13, the local community rallied to support the business.
Hundreds of concerned citizens voiced their support online, particularly on Facebook, after the announcement.
“Thank you for everything that you have made for us over the years,” said Cumberland resident Bethany Christine on the bakery’s social media page.
Lantz said that local branches of M&T Bank approached him with the idea of setting up a retirement fund in order to give back for the work he has done while serving the community.
“I didn’t even mention it or anything,” Lantz said.
“Everybody just started saying, ‘Hey, we’re gonna help you out a little bit.’”
Over the years, the bakery has donated cakes, doughnuts and pastries to local fire and police departments, as well as extensive fundraisers with churches such as Annunciation of Our Lord in Fort Ashby, West Virginia.
“A lot of times, I would take extra (doughnuts) up to them to have,” Lantz said.
Right time to retire
Lantz said the pieces have fallen into place that have made retirement the best option for him.
“It had to be the time to go,” he said.
“It’s been good over the years.”
Along with aging equipment and recommendations from his doctor, Lantz said that he wants to slow down and enjoy a more relaxed life after working at the shop for more than 50 years.
“The doctor told me that you have to slow down,” he said.
The bakery contains several ovens that were part of the original shop when it was purchased in the 1960s — and the equipment is getting more and more expensive to repair and maintain, Elizabeth Lantz said.
“When they first bought (the bakery), they were here,” she said. “It’s an expensive repair job; they don’t make the parts anymore.”
The Lantzes hope to sell the building before the beginning of summer so they can start the next chapter of their lives.
Part of the family
M&M Bake Shop has always been in the hands of the Lantz family — Roger Lantz’s mother, Mary, was the sole proprietor of the shop previously.
“(Roger’s) mom had a lot of friends and she brought them all in,” Elizabeth Lantz recalled.
Mary Lantz was the brainchild of many of the baking recipes that were used in the store for decades.
After the closure of Kelly- Springfield Tire Co. in Cumberland in 1987, where Roger Lantz worked and retiring from service in the Army, his mother welcomed him into the shop with open arms.
“She taught me a lot when she was there,” Lantz said.
“Mom said, ‘Here, come with me.”
“She taught me, too,” Elizabeth Lantz said.
She remembers Mary Lantz teaching her how to make peanut butter rolls exactly the way she wanted them made.
She also was an “expert” at decorating cakes for customers.
The tradition continued to be passed down even further.
The Lantzes’ two daughters, Adrienne and Ann Marie, both spent time working at the family business.
“She showed the girls how to do things the right way,” Elizabeth Lantz said.
They have since moved on to other ventures, but the Lantzes said they always have a place to call home at M&M.
Along with countless loyal customers, Elizabeth Lantz said the family has made lots of personal connections over the years at the bakery.
“Friends are friends, and friends are for life,” she said.
To donate to the Lantzes’ retirement fund, visit any area M&T Bank branch and mention the M&M Bakery Retirement Fund or Roger Lantz.