JennyCakes​ Bakery Closing In Kensington

KENSINGTON, MD — Kensington is about to get a little less sweet.

JennyCakes Bakery — a neighborhood favorite for more than eight years — announced it will be closing for good on Sept. 19.

In a message to customers, owner Jenny Smith said the pandemic has given her time to reflect on the business — and how it has grown over the years.

"The much slower pace at the bakery during the initial COVID-19 quarantine gave me a chance to reflect on the bakery and think back to my original goal, which was to create a traditional community bakery that sells baked goods that many of us grew up with," Smith wrote. "In many ways, I think we succeeded at this!"

Smith went on to thank her customers for their support, saying it helped grow her business larger than she could have ever imagined.

But the expansion, she explained, led to a slew of issues relating to staffing, orders, and other logistics.

"I felt increasingly anxious and stressed about how to make everything run smoothly so that both customers and staff were happy. It became more and more challenging to manage and harder and harder to enjoy or foster that original community feel," she wrote. "At the same time, I was missing time with my family, time to visit my kids who are in college, and time to enjoy friends. If COVID-19 taught us one thing, it is to value those we love the most."

Once the bakery closes, Smith wants to embark on a new project called JennyCakes At Home. She didn't go into details but said the much smaller JennyCakes would have occasional pop-up sales and bake for local shelters.

JennyCakes Bakery — located at 10419 Armory Ave. — is closed through Aug. 17. It will reopen the following day and cater to customers through Sept. 19.

New hours for retail sales and order pickups will be Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.