Vestal Freihofer Thrift Store Closes Doors After 35 Years

A bakery outlet store that had operated in Vestal for more than three decades has been permanently closed.

Freihofer's Thrift Store on Castle Gardens Road was shut down without advance notice.

Company employees were advised of the corporate decision to suddenly close the store on Monday morning.

The move happened so quickly that a wide array of baked goods remained on store shelves on Tuesday.

A sign featuring a smiling Osito - the Bimbo Bakeries bear cub mascot - advised would-be shoppers that "we are permanently closed!" A handwritten sign at the parking lot entrance carried the same message.

Neither sign explained why the store was shut down. A message left at Bimbo Bakeries USA headquarters in Horsham, Pennsylvania was not returned.

The Vestal store provided a wide range of day-old baked goods at deeply-discounted prices. It offered Freihofer, Thomas' and other Bimbo Bakeries brands.

The store had been a fixture in Vestal since it opened as part of a 16,000-square-foot warehouse distribution center in September 1989. It's located at the west end of the Vestal rail trail near the Castle Gardens nursing home.

Many more Freihofer Bakery Outlets in New York and other states also were abruptly closed on Monday.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.