Growing up in Farmingdale in the 70s with health-conscious parents, we did not did not eat much in the way of processed, prepackaged foods, especially baked goods. One of few exceptions was Entenmann’s coffee cakes, which were made locally. Mom and Dad went for the pecan roll, though we kids were always hot for the crumb-topped coffee cake. (The chocolate-covered donuts, sadly, were never in play.)
For a while, every day we drove past the Entenmann’s factory outlet on Roslyn Road and Jericho Turnpike. In the morning, a line of eager shoppers formed outside the doors. Inside was a carb heaven (or hell, depending on your point of view), with Entenmann’s classics alongside exotic cookies and snack brands established by the LI company’s new parent in Mexico. But the writing was on the wall, or more properly the door. About a week after our first visit, the outlet closed.
Now the bakery itself, all five acres of it, is going too. Moving somewhere cheaper after more than 100 years. Mom, kept robust in her dotage by decades of healthy eating habits, won’t be buying Entenmann’s anymore.
Us? We’re still suckers for that crumb cake.
