When Ronnie and Elaine Pratzel announced in late January that they were closing the area’s only independently owned kosher bakery after 98 years in business, there was an outcry of support from local businesses to keep the St. Louis institution alive.
But rye bread and chocolate-covered cupcake lovers, fear not! Pratzel’s Bakery will rise again, this time under the ownership of Jon Mills (pictured, right).
Mills, a documentary producer and self-professed foodie, will operate Pratzel’s out of the company’s wholesale baking facility at 9265 Dielman Industrial Court in Olivette. He also plans to convert part of the bakery into a storefront, similar to the way Pratzel’s operated when it was located on Eastgate Avenue in The Loop. In fact, Mills has renamed the company Eastgate Bakers as a nod to this period in the bakery’s history, though the working name of the store will remain Pratzel’s Bakery.
Contrary to suggestions that Pratzel’s closed for financial reasons, Mills said that the Pratzels were actually facing health issues and were ready to retire. With no family members willing to take over, they searched for an outside buyer. Ronnie Pratzel (pictured, left), who ran the bakery for 40 years, expressed his pleasure with this most recent advancement in his family’s history. “Although he is not a relative, Jon is the perfect person to continue my family’s legacy. He’s bright, capable and young enough to have the energy to run this operation. … [Mills] “has a deep appreciation for the history and tradition of Pratzel’s in our community.”
Ronnie Pratzel will remain involved as a consultant and salesperson for the bakery, and many of Pratzel’s former employees have expressed interest in returning to the bakery as well. As for Mills, he referred to the opportunity as beshert – a Yiddish term for “meant to be.”
This article appears in March 2011.