SWAMPSCOTT ― While owner Deb Newman saw a need for a vegetarian diner and bakery on Humphrey Street, The Baker’s Daughter was only able to stay in business for a year; it served its last meal this past Sunday.
“The timing was bad from day one,” said Newman, who said that the closing was caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, and was also due to the fact she was feeling overworked and didn’t want to lose her passion for baking. “I was going along and it was going OK, but it wasn’t right for me. I do feel bad disappointing people.”
Newman said that baking has been in her blood her whole life. Her father, Joseph, opened Newman’s Bakery in 1966 and ran it until his death in 2017. It was then run by Deb’s brother until it closed on Sept. 11, 2020.
“When Newman’s closed, everyone was looking to me to make some of their things,” she said.
A big complication to The Baker’s Daughter was Newman’s Bakery closing, she added. Newman had planned to bring some baked goods, like bagels, to her restaurant to take off some of the pressure. Because of Newman’s Bakery closing, Newman said she had to find a way to make all the baked goods she wanted to have available.
“I was making more than 50 baked goods out of there just using a regular cooking stove,” Newman said. “I didn’t have the space to put an appropriate bakery oven in there. Because of the way I had to bake, I was working 80 hours, seven days a week.”
Newman said that she was humbled to see the outpouring of support from the community when she made her announcement on Swampscott Nest, a Facebook group for locals. She added that she hopes she was able to help some people learn a little more about ethical treatment of animals.
“People know I’m a huge animal advocate and saw how important that was,” Newman said. “I feel that I set out to do what I planned by having people aware of meatless food. It makes me really happy that people enjoy what I make for them.”