Oxford Bake Shop, a long-time staple in Ozone Park, officially shut its doors after 94 years in business on Saturday, June 24.
To give the bakery a proper send-off, dozens of locals gathered in front of the shop at 104-01 Liberty Ave. for a farewell ceremony hosted by the Ozone Park Residents Block Association (OZPKRBA).
“This is not normal. This is really not normal,” lifelong Ozone Park resident and OZPKRBA President Sam Esposito said about the crowd. “People don’t just do this for a business that’s been an institution for Ozone Park.”
Oxford Bake Shop, according to Esposito, documents all the way back to 1929, making the bakery approximately 94 years old. Some people in the crowd even claimed that the shop is even older, potentially dating back to as early as 1920.
Based on the existing documentation, Oxford Bake Shop was Ozone Park’s oldest existing
business in one location, second only to P.C. Richard & Son, which has been open since 1909 but at three different locations throughout Ozone Park.
Over the years, Oxford Bake Shop became a popular presence in the community, praised for its signature crumb cake, apple turnovers, cannolis, doughnuts, cookies, and rye bread, among other things.
The current owners, Vicki Deegan and Felicemarie Misiti, addressed the crowd outside the shop, thanking them for their years of support. Deegan said the bakery has been a part of “her whole life,” and the experience allowed her to meet people far and wide.
“It took a village to keep this bakery,” Deegan said. “Customers are our family. I know more about some of my customers than their own family does.”
Misiti, who started working at the bakery when she was 15 years old, became an owner about 15 years ago and worked at the bakery for 36 years altogether.
“It’s been wonderful. I met so many wonderful people in here,” Misiti said. “We couldn’t be where we were without everybody.”
The news of Oxford Bake Shop’s closing came in May…
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