Bakery bids farewell
Hampden's New System closes doors after 89 years
Posted 2/05/10
By Larry Perl
lperl@patuxent.com
New System Bakery, a fixture in Hampden since 1921, closed its doors permanently Friday.
Behind in their mortgage payments and electric bills, and seeing no prospects of making money in a recession, co-owners John and Debbie Ruthke made a “gutwrenching” decision Wednesday to go out of business, John Ruthke said.
For the past year, they had kept going more for the sake of the community than for themselves, he said.
“There were people who offered us money to keep it going but at some point you have to say enough is enough.”
He thanked customers for their support through the years, and said he was sorry for Hampden because New System was a “pillar” in the neighborhood and a place where north Baltimoreans came to buy baked goods and sip coffee.
The bakery, which moved from The Avenue to 34th Street and Chestnut Avenue about 10 years ago, even had lunch specials. Friday’s was chipped beef for $3.50.
It had the word “new” in its name and a Facebook page on the Web. But, “it was old Hampden,” said neighbor Debbie Falkenhan of Falkenhan’s hardware store, also a longtime anchor of the Hampden business community.
New System was one of the last stand-alone bakeries in north Baltimore. Other known bakeries in the area include the gluten-free Sweet Sin at 27th and Howard streets and Roland Park Bakery and Deli.
Fomer longtime Hampdenite George Green, 83, said that when he was growing up there were three bakeries in the neighborhood alone; New System Bakery, Reichert’s and Gondeck’s.
But John Ruthke said mom-and-pop bakeries have fallen victim to a fast-paced, cost-conscious society.
People can save money and do their one-stop shopping at grocery stores with full-service bakeries such as Eddie’s of Roland Park and Giant, he said.
Customers are watching their weight more, which has hurt business as well, Debbie Ruthke said.
A snowstorm on the Saturday before Christmas, which is the busiest day of the year for many retailers, broke their hearts and their backs, John Ruthke said.
At 48, having spent his working life in the family business, he is looking for a job for the first time in his life, with help from friends, and went on his first job interview in January.
“We’ll be alright,” he said hopefully.
The news that the bakery was closing saddened longtime customers like Green. He and his wife, Virginia, who now live in Towson, came Friday morning and found out it was the last day.
“Sorry to see ’em go,” he said.
No one was sorrier than John Ruthke.
“It’s the end of an era,” he said.
lperl@patuxent.com
New System Bakery, a fixture in Hampden since 1921, closed its doors permanently Friday.
Behind in their mortgage payments and electric bills, and seeing no prospects of making money in a recession, co-owners John and Debbie Ruthke made a “gutwrenching” decision Wednesday to go out of business, John Ruthke said.
For the past year, they had kept going more for the sake of the community than for themselves, he said.
“There were people who offered us money to keep it going but at some point you have to say enough is enough.”
He thanked customers for their support through the years, and said he was sorry for Hampden because New System was a “pillar” in the neighborhood and a place where north Baltimoreans came to buy baked goods and sip coffee.
The bakery, which moved from The Avenue to 34th Street and Chestnut Avenue about 10 years ago, even had lunch specials. Friday’s was chipped beef for $3.50.
It had the word “new” in its name and a Facebook page on the Web. But, “it was old Hampden,” said neighbor Debbie Falkenhan of Falkenhan’s hardware store, also a longtime anchor of the Hampden business community.
New System was one of the last stand-alone bakeries in north Baltimore. Other known bakeries in the area include the gluten-free Sweet Sin at 27th and Howard streets and Roland Park Bakery and Deli.
Fomer longtime Hampdenite George Green, 83, said that when he was growing up there were three bakeries in the neighborhood alone; New System Bakery, Reichert’s and Gondeck’s.
But John Ruthke said mom-and-pop bakeries have fallen victim to a fast-paced, cost-conscious society.
People can save money and do their one-stop shopping at grocery stores with full-service bakeries such as Eddie’s of Roland Park and Giant, he said.
Customers are watching their weight more, which has hurt business as well, Debbie Ruthke said.
A snowstorm on the Saturday before Christmas, which is the busiest day of the year for many retailers, broke their hearts and their backs, John Ruthke said.
At 48, having spent his working life in the family business, he is looking for a job for the first time in his life, with help from friends, and went on his first job interview in January.
“We’ll be alright,” he said hopefully.
The news that the bakery was closing saddened longtime customers like Green. He and his wife, Virginia, who now live in Towson, came Friday morning and found out it was the last day.
“Sorry to see ’em go,” he said.
No one was sorrier than John Ruthke.
“It’s the end of an era,” he said.
user comments (1)
user ccezar says...
This is a very sad day for Hampden and for all of Baltimore. Yummies from New System have lifted my spirits after a trying night shift at the hospital and have been included in so many of our family gatherings. Let's not let another family business go under, support local merchants! They are the soul and sustenance of our communities. We will miss the New System Bakery very much.
Posted 11:21 PM, 02.06.10
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