LYNN — Employees of D’Amici’s, a bakery that was founded on Eastern Avenue in 1993, got a rude awakening early Monday morning.
Staff received a 4 a.m. text message from D’Amici’s owner, Sandrine Coyer, that the bakery’s three stores: Eastern Avenue in Lynn, Melrose and Reading, along with its downtown production site, were closed and that they were out of a job. The stores would have opened an hour later.
“I have bad news,” reads the text message, which an employee shared with The Item. “I am sorry and sad to tell you that the business is done. Because of economic difficulties, we had to file for bankruptcy.”
The message goes on to inform employees that the locks to all of the stores were changed, and that they were not allowed on the premises to collect their belongings because the business had become the property of a trustee. Employees were told they would receive their final checks in the mail.
“Thank you and good luck to everybody,” the message concludes.
The abrupt closure comes less than a year after the owners, Sandrine and Didier Coyer, closed the bakery’s downtown location on Sutton Street. The married couple purchased D’Amici’s in December 2017 from founder Joe Torretta and his wife, Sarah.
Sandrine Coyer did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but the couple posted on Facebook about the closure.
“For two years now, my husband and I poured everything we had in that business,” the couple posted. “It was our dream and we worked everyday as hard as we could to make it work. Sadly, this business and the struggles it was having became so overwhelming that we could barely survive anymore. As soon as we took over the business, we discovered things had been hidden from us. These issues condemned us as soon as we took over.
“We tried until the last day, but we met a dead end. There was no alternatives for us otherwise, trust me, we would have done anything else. We are heartbroken today, (disappointed), guilty but also this is now a time to focus on our family and try to move on in the best way that we can. We are truly sorry for everyone this is impacting and there are no words that could possibly make anyone feel better.”
Torretta, who owns the 500 Eastern Ave. property where Lynn’s bakery is located, did not respond to a request for comment, but his daughter, Nadia Torretta Usalis, posted about the closure on Facebook.
Usalis said her parents sold the bakery because they wanted to focus on their family and enjoy their lives a bit more.
“My parents put their life and soul into D’Amici’s,” Usalis wrote. “It was a legacy that everybody in the North Shore knew and loved. They put 24 years of hard work into, at one time, five different locations. It was a place employees loved to work, my sisters and I loved to work, and (where there were) so many memories along the way.
“Unfortunately, the new owners could not maintain that success. To the D’Amici’s employees that have lost their jobs today, know my parents hoped and prayed the legacy would continue and all of you would remain gainfully employed. Many of you stood by us since day 1 and we can’t help but think of you. It’s a sad day,” she said.
A D’Amici’s employee, who asked not to be identified, said the closure came as a shock, but there were some warning signs.
“They were really struggling,” the employee said. “(They were) having a hard time paying the bills. Sometimes employees’ checks would bounce, but we were trying everything to make it work.”
The bakery owners had been unreachable in past days, but employees thought the lack of contact was due to a personal situation that the couple was dealing with, the employee said.
But on Sunday night, a Melrose staff member was asked for a lockbox combination to get into the building. Surveillance cameras showed the owner cleared out everything, including cash from the store, the employee said.
The employee then decided to drive to the Melrose store shortly before midnight to check what was going on and found a “closed,” going out of business sign on the door. A drive to Eastern Avenue revealed the same sign on the door and the closure was confirmed when the employee woke up to the text message.
The bakery employs 40 to 50 people among its four sites, according to the employee, some of whom have been there for more than a decade. There were customer orders out for this week, and for Thanksgiving pies and wedding cakes into next year.
There may be some relief for employees; two businesses have said they want to help with providing jobs for D’Amici’s employees.
“We just feel awful that this happened,” said Elissa Montilio, co-owner of Montilio’s Bakery, which has locations at Braintree, Brockton, Quincy and Weymouth. “If employees are struggling to get jobs, we’re always looking for jobs around the holidays. If we need the help, we would love to help them.”
Montilio, who co-owns the South Shore bakery with her father, George, said there’s a possibility the holiday jobs could become permanent. They were shocked to hear about D’Amici’s closure, which they viewed as friendly competition.
Kristina Sperounes, owner of Mandee’s Pizza, located down the street from D’Amici’s Eastern Avenue location, said her family plans to reach out to employees with potential jobs.
“Any time things like this happen, we try to be on top of it,” she said. “I feel so bad for the people. It’s just wild.”
Customers making their way to the Eastern Avenue bakery on Monday were shocked to see the “out of business” sign on the door.
“Everybody loves this place,” said resident Susan Takis. “This is a staple of Lynn. There’s always good breads and pastries. It was a go-to place for a lot of people.”
Kathi Kougias, of Nahant, had stopped by for a loaf of bread, and noted the closure was “unfortunate” and “very sad.”
“It’s another small business that’s left,” she said. “Lynn’s a hardworking city and it just seems like these small businesses can’t stay around. It’s just a different world now.”
This story has been updated.