The last day of business for the Woodside Bakery & Cafe will be Tuesday, March 15, according to Jan Sweyer, who co-owns the popular Woodside restaurant with her brother Mark Sweyer.
There will be a farewell party with a $25 buffet dinner on that evening at the restaurant at 3052 Woodside Road, Sweyer said. Call 650-851-0812 to make a reservation.
The property owner is the Roberts family, which owns the complex of shops and restaurants at the northwest corner of Woodside and Canada roads as well as the Roberts Market grocery stores in Woodside and Portola Valley.
The Sweyers were caught by surprise late last year when the property owner notified them that they had to close the restaurant and that another business was going to take over the space. The Roberts family initially set a deadline of Jan. 15 for the restaurant owners to leave, the Sweyers said, but later granted a two-month extension.
Asked for the name of the business moving into the restaurant's spot, Christine Roberts said the lease had not yet been signed but that she was expecting that to happen later in the week.
"We're almost there," she said. The business model will be an echo of the current tenant: a bakery and cafe combination, Roberts said.
The Woodside Bakery will be opening a wholesale operation on Constitution Drive in Menlo Park in three to four weeks, Sweyer said. Bianchini's markets in Ladera and San Carlos will be selling the Woodside Bakery's danishes, pies and bread, she said.
The closing of the restaurant means the layoff of 52 of the establishment's 65 employees, Sweyer said, adding that the remaining 13 will be taken on to operate the wholesale bakery.
Asked if she and her brother are going to be reopening the restaurant somewhere nearby, Sweyer replied: "We have no location yet."
Comments
Community Center
on Mar 7, 2016 at 1:53 pm
on Mar 7, 2016 at 1:53 pm
A real shame to see another great place with character close. We, as customers, can only watch. The Cookbook is another example of a true loss to the community. Is Zot's next?
Woodside
on Mar 8, 2016 at 9:37 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 9:37 am
It will be VERY interesting to find out what the new business is and who the business owners are.
If this turns out to be some sort of "family favor" which eliminated one of the best restaurants in the area, expect anger, not customers..
Palo Verde
on Mar 8, 2016 at 10:29 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 10:29 am
How long have the Sweyers been there?
And this was not a raise-of-rent issue?
They were just terminated and not given an option to remain?
Hmmm...
I'll be interested to see how this develops.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 8, 2016 at 10:38 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 10:38 am
This sounds unfair and suspicious. Why replace a successful bakery/cafe with an unproven bakery/cafe?
Dumb, dumb, dumb--- especially since the Roberts family is already ultra-wealthy!
Charleston Meadows
on Mar 8, 2016 at 10:51 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 10:51 am
You can call them whatever you want, until you find out that the business moving in is Mayfield Bakery which is by every measure a superior business to this one.
It's sad that all things must come to an end, but I commend the owners for looking out for the best interest of Woodside in choosing a better quality business to succeed them.
Old Palo Alto
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:22 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:22 am
I heard that it was a Starbucks going in...has anyone else heard this?
Crescent Park
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:23 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:23 am
There are two Roberts families. This is not the super wealthy one.
Evergreen Park
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:35 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:35 am
Anyone suggest them open a store in California Avenue?
Leland Manor/Garland Drive
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:39 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:39 am
Mayfield bakery has nice products, but their service is the pits! If they continue their policy of ignoring seated patrons, they'll never last in Woodside.
University South
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:48 am
on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:48 am
Sorry to see them go. Enjoyed that place whenever I was in Woodside.Hope it's not a greed replacement.
Menlo Park
on Mar 8, 2016 at 12:52 pm
on Mar 8, 2016 at 12:52 pm
Good luck, Woodside Bakery. I always loved those danishes.
Charleston Meadows
on Mar 8, 2016 at 1:11 pm
on Mar 8, 2016 at 1:11 pm
Another special store is about to disappear from our community. Sadly it happens all too frequently these days. I am disappointed the ROBERTS' gave such a short and abrupt notice, so anxious were they to make the change to something new . Soon all the unique charm of our community will have disappeared, what a shame for all of us!
Downtown North
on Mar 8, 2016 at 2:41 pm
on Mar 8, 2016 at 2:41 pm
Its a real shame, this is not a failing business, the landlord just wants another business in there, and since he owns the property he can do that. The owner said they were looking for a Redwood City location.
Portola Valley
on Mar 9, 2016 at 6:50 am
on Mar 9, 2016 at 6:50 am
I find it hard to believe that this Roberts family is not "the wealthy one" of the two, considering they own the two Roberts grocery stores AND the whole plaza on the corner of Cañada Rd. and Woodside Rd. Unfortunately, while there will be an uproar at first, people will eventually give in and dine at the new establishment. It's too bad, but that's Woodside.
Woodside
on Mar 9, 2016 at 8:02 am
on Mar 9, 2016 at 8:02 am
I've lived here a long time and I still lament the moving-on of the previous operators of the Woodside Bakery. They did a much more lovely job - the place was more "comfortable" then. The current operators kept doing crazy things on that back patio thing. It's always been a mess. From what I've heard, they've been really difficult tenants.
Woodside
on Apr 30, 2016 at 1:20 pm
on Apr 30, 2016 at 1:20 pm
In response to Marie's comment re Mayfield Bakery, it is in no way superior to the Woodside Bakery & Cafe, a very popular Woodside institution for decades that will be sorely missed. While Mayfield's bakery has a few nice items, though a very limited selection in comparison to the Woodside Bakery, the restaurant has so-so food, bad service and is overpriced. Sure there was room for some improvement at the Woodside Bakery & Cafe (such as making some changes to the regular long-time menu), but it was much more of a fit for this community and its visitors. This action by the Roberts family was a real slap in the face to the residents of Woodside and many other long-term patrons and I hope that those unhappy with it will see fit to eat and shop elsewhere!