The family bakery, opened by Thomas Schorr on Perrysville Avenue in 1973, is unlikely to reopen after the owner’s surgery.

By Alexander Oh

After more than 40 years of serving delicious baked goods, both the Observatory Hill and West View locations of the Schorr Family Bakery will close their doors on June 29.

The bakery was opened by Thomas Schorr on Perrysville Avenue in 1973 and has remained a family-run operation since then. Due to his upcoming foot surgery and retirement plans, Jim Schorr, the current owner, has decided to close down the beloved bakery.

Schorr, 61, still comes into the bakery everyday around 5 a.m. to prepare ingredients. He prides himself on the quality of the goods the bakery serves, claiming that he vehemently avoids frozen products.

“Good quality. We make a good cake from scratch with good ingredients. We make a good cake with buttercream, real buttercream, we don’t skip on that. Everything is from scratch,” Schorr told The Northside Chronicle in 2016.

The Council of the City of Pittsburgh declared March 1, 2016 to be “Schorr Bakery Day” in the City of Pittsburgh. Rave reviews cover the bakery’s Yelp and Facebook pages, commending their great service, and more importantly, their tasty assortment of desserts. Though, even without the honor and the positive reviews, it is evident that Schorr Family Bakery is loved by the community.

“This is where they got their childhood birthday cakes, came in from school to get donuts,” says Krista, manager of the Observatory Hill location.

In addition to its role as a staple of the community, Schorr Family Bakery also makes it a point to give back. In 2017, the bakery made Pittsburgh Penguins themed cupcakes in support of the “Drop the Puck on Cancer” dek hockey fundraiser. Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have enjoyed gingerbread men made by the bakery while overseas.

The possibility of reopening is unclear, but according to Krista, it’s not likely. She recommends that “if there’s anything you want, go get it now!”