Metropolitan Bakery, a Philadelphia bakery known for sourdough loaves, French baguettes, and flaky pastries, has been sold after 32 years in business. The transition brings new ownership to the wholesale operation and will end retail service at its longtime Rittenhouse Square location on March 15.
Owners James Barrett and Wendy Smith Born announced the change and thanked customers who supported the bakery for more than three decades. “Thank you for supporting us for more than three decades,” they said in a statement. “It has been an honor to serve you and to be part of your celebrations and daily life.” In a message posted on Instagram, they also wrote, “Thank you for everything, Philadelphia. Be good to each other.”
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The bakery’s wholesale business is transferring to Peter Merzbacher, owner of Merzbacher’s of Germantown. His company is acquiring the wholesale program and will produce Metropolitan’s breads and pastries at its Germantown facility. The products will continue to be delivered throughout the region to the bakery’s existing customers.
“Merzbacher’s, my company, is only acquiring their wholesale program, so we’re taking all their breads and pastries, and we’ll ultimately make them out of our Germantown facility to deliver throughout the region, service their existing customers,” Merzbacher said.
Barrett and Smith Born shared their recipes and equipment with Merzbacher so the baked goods could continue to be produced using the bakery’s established techniques. Metropolitan products, including breads, rolls, and granola, will continue to be available online and through specialty shops and markets across the region. Merzbacher plans to keep the Metropolitan brand intact while continuing deliveries to roughly 80 restaurants and grocery stores.
Merzbacher’s bakery opened in Germantown in 2019 and is known for its “Philly Muffin,” described as a cross between an English muffin and a small loaf. Merzbacher said Metropolitan Bakery influenced his own work while building his business.
“Honestly, I developed all of my products with Metropolitan being the elephant in the room,” he told The Inquirer. He described his attempts to sell products to clients who already carried Metropolitan items. “Every account I went to trying to sell a baguette, they were like, ‘I use Metropolitan, we’re happy with it.’ ‘And how about a classic sourdough?’ ‘Yeah, we got it from Metropolitan. We’re pretty happy with it.’ ‘How about a brioche bun?’ ‘Yep, Metropolitan — we’re happy with it.’”
Merzbacher said he expressed interest in acquiring the operation last fall. During the transition, Barrett will work as a consultant to assist with production. Merzbacher said he aims to keep “as many of Metropolitan’s 40 employees as possible.”
The transition also includes the closure of the bakery’s retail shop near Rittenhouse Square. The location on 19th Street will close on March 15 after serving customers for more than three decades. The bakery described the store as part of the community and announced the closure publicly through Instagram.
Customers who regularly visited the shop responded quickly after hearing the news. Erica Ginsburg visited the bakery after learning about the closure. “I was in shock. I opened my phone and basically said, ‘Oh no!’ So, I came,” she said. Before leaving the store, she purchased several items. “I got the sourdough, apple pie, because my husband loves fruit. It’s quality goods. So, it will be missed.”
Metropolitan Bakery began in 1993 when Barrett and Smith Born opened the business after working together at The White Dog Cafe. Barrett served as the pastry chef, and Smith Born worked as the managing partner. Both were interested in Parisian-style baking and believed that Philadelphia lacked artisan bakeries at the time.
“There were no artisan bakeries in Center City,” Barrett said in a 2012 interview with WHYY. “There were not many artisan bakeries, period, at the time in Philadelphia.”
The bakery expanded over the years and at one point operated five retail shops, including a location in Reading Terminal Market. Barrett and Smith Born also published two cookbooks featuring recipes from the bakery.
Smith Born described the bakery’s role in Philadelphia during an interview with WHYY. “We’ve become a community institution: the neighborhood bakery — the place where people go to find their favorite morning treat or evening treat,” she said.
Barrett attributed part of the bakery’s longevity to its sourdough process. “All of Metropolitan Bakery Bread is based off one of four sourdough starters,” he said. “They were all created from one singular starter or culture that I developed about 24 years ago.”
He explained how the starter cultures are maintained. “Now, the age doesn’t particularly matter. What matters is that you constantly perpetuate the starter and take care of it like it was one of your children.”
Metropolitan Bakery gained recognition for bringing a homemade bread style to Philadelphia long before baking bread at home became popular through viral recipes and a pandemic that kept many people in their kitchens. Under the new arrangement with Merzbacher’s of Germantown, Metropolitan’s breads and pastries will continue to be produced using the bakery’s recipes and traditional methods while its Rittenhouse Square storefront prepares to close on March 15.
