An Ottawa institution has closed its doors for the final time.
Over the weekend, Ottawa’s Rideau Bakery announced it was closed for good with a sign on the door and a brief message on its website thanking customers for their patronage.
The Kardish family’s local bakery, with locations on Rideau and Bank streets, had served Ottawa patrons since the 1930s and became a cultural landmark thanks, in part, to the iconic sign over its downtown doors.
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The bakery’s end hit close to home for members of Ottawa’s Jewish community. A letter sent this past weekend from the Jewish Federation of Ottawa bemoaned the loss of a reliable source for kosher baked goods and thanked the Kardish family for their generations of service.
Social media, too, saw an outpouring of well wishes and fond farewells to the Ottawa bakery, with some wondering what could have been done to keep the shop going for years to come. Many, on the other hand, just reminisced about the rye bread.
Sad to see @RideauBakery close. I wonder if the public knew, would there have been a chance to save it?
— Sara McGillivray (@saramcgillivray) June 30, 2019
I am at a loss for words at the thought that @RideauBakery is closing. They were/are my favourite part of my neighborhood, it was wonderful to walk down the street every few days and see familiar faces and walk away with the most delicious rye bread I’ve ever had.
— Fernando Melo (@FernandoLeft) June 29, 2019
So sad to hear about the closing of @RideauBakery! My whole family has such fond memories of all the delicious from here and, of course, the amazing rye bread!
— Laura Bednarek (@missbednarek) June 30, 2019