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Geiger's Bakery in Mayfair to close

A number of factors are behind the shutdown.

Feb. 14 was the finale for Geiger's Bakery in Mayfair, which has stood on Frankford Avenue near Unruh for 37 years.

Robert Geiger, 55, son of founder Bernie Geiger, said a number of factors led to the closing: "the economics of the neighborhood, the city - and it gets to a point, well, we've been here since '79 and my father's hitting 77 and my brother [also Bernie] didn't want to partake in it anymore."

It's a familiar refrain among family-run bakeries, and the list of closings keeps growing. Competition from supermarkets is one issue. Robert Geiger said the city always is looking for ways to get more money via licenses and taxes. And then there's the generational issue – who will keep the family business going? The bakery business, with its razor-thin margins and ungodly hours, is not for the weak.

"You're married to it," Robert Geiger said, adding that the bakery is for sale.

He said Feb. 14 was chosen as the last day not for sentiment but "because I start tomorrow at a new job." He will become a bakery manager for Redner's Markets, a family owned supermarket chain.

"I'm going to miss the customers," Geiger said. "That's the hardest part. There is such satisfaction following an order till the customer picks it up and you see the smile."

Geiger's started in the 1930s at Frankford Avenue and Clearfield Street, by Mastbaum High. The three Geiger boys – Harry, Richard, and Bernie – split up and opened their own Geiger's Bakeries.

Meanwhile, the bakery's Facebook page is blowing up with tributes.