Important Update About JennyCakes

Dear JennyCakes Customers,

There is no easy way to write this note. After 8+ wonderful years, I have decided to close JennyCakes. Our last day open will be Sat, Sept 19. 

The much slower pace at the bakery during the initial COVID-19 quarantine gave me a chance to reflect on the bakery and think back to my original goal, which was to create a traditional community bakery that sells baked goods that many of us grew up with. In many ways, I think we succeeded at this! 

We’ve loved knowing the names and favorite bakery treats of so many of our customers. We’ve loved the steady stream of dogs that arrive at our kitchen door for our homemade dog biscuits. We’ve loved being a part of many Kensington community events, especially the Labor Day festivities, Antique Row Holiday Open House and Food Truck Nights. We’ve loved being a  part of so many celebrations and the incredibly kind emails we’ve received from customers thanking us for their cakes and other goodies. I’ve loved experimenting with new recipes and getting such wonderful (and honest!) feedback from the community so that you were a part of the whole process.

Thanks to the amazing support of so many of you, the business became much bigger than I ever could have imagined. While this was exciting and rewarding, it meant the number and complexity of issues relating to staffing, orders and a multitude of other logistics increased as well. I felt increasingly anxious and stressed about how to make everything run smoothly so that both customers and staff were happy. It became more and more challenging to manage and harder and harder to enjoy or foster that original community feel.    

At the same time, I was missing time with my family, time to visit my kids who are in college, and time to enjoy friends. If COVID-19 taught us one thing, it is to value those we love the most.

So I know in my heart, it is time for me to transition into a new stage. But I sincerely hope this isn’t “goodbye”. I love baking for people and plan to give some of my bakery equipment a new home in my finished basement. I hope to join Montgomery County’s cottage industry which allows baked goods made at home to be sold or donated to the public. I’m envisioning a much smaller JennyCakes at Home that would do occasional pop-up sales, as well as baking for local shelters. Keep an eye on Facebook and Instagram for updates!

Between now and Sept 19, we hope you will stop in to say goodbye! 

We will be changing things up a bit for the last 5 weeks that we’re open (Tues Aug 18 through Sat Sept 19) because my staff is shrinking as they leave for new jobs. Our new hours for retail sales and order pickups will be Tues through Fri noon to 5pm, and Sat 9am to 5pm. We are still able to take all cake orders but we have scaled back our menu a bit. I’ll post updates frequently on Facebook and Instagram so it’s clear what we will be offering for any given week.

Let me close by saying THANK YOU – to each of you who have allowed JennyCakes to be a part of your birthdays, graduations and everything in between. It has been a huge honor to serve you. 

With love,
Jenny 

PS  We understand that another bakery may be moving into our space!  We’ll keep you informed as things develop. J