‘Last hurrah’ for Nutty Greek Bake Shop bittersweet for regulars

Anna Papadopoulos works the cash register on the last day of business for the Nutty Greek Bake Shop in Little Italy. Photo by ASHLEY FRASER /POSTMEDIA

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Inside the Nutty Greek Bake Shop, a teary-eyed Natalie Esau had just picked up a brown bag of her last meal — a small village salad with a side of chicken — and two boxes full of baked goods from the family-owned bakery.

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Her fingers brushed up against her lower eyelids, barricading tears she fought to hold back. She hugged Anna Papadopoulos, who stood behind the register. Like many in line before and after her, the paper brown bag would be her last from the shop.

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“This is it,” Esau said as she sat outside the shop on the patio. After 15 years of serving the Little Italy community, Papadopoulos and her family were working what would be their last shift before the bakery closed for good on Sept. 19, 2026.

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“I’ll just put my sun glasses on,” Esau said with a nervous laugh.

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Nutty Greek Bake Shop regular Natalie Esau says she’ll also miss “people in the community that I literally know just from here.” Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

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Family members themselves were flooded with orders on their last day and declined an interview request. The weight of this new reality was just starting to settle in as the crowd slowly ramped up.

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Esau is the owner of Upkeep Shoppe, a spa on Preston Street, not far from the bakery. For 14 of the 15 years Nutty Greek had been operating, the two businesses had formed a bond. Esau and her staff members would eat at the bakery, and the bakery family would visit Esau’s spa.

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The relationship was more than “just food,” Esau said between bites. “It’s about the community.”

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Nutty Greek Bake Shop welcomed customers for one final day on Saturday, Sept. 19. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

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Empty shelves: a testament of love

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When Esau walked into the bakery a few days after the family announced it would close, on Aug. 24, she saw that the silver countertops and stainless steel countertops — typically filled with baked goods — were empty.

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“I’ve never seen the shelves empty,” she recalled.

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“’It’s a testament to how much people love you,’ is what I told them,” she said. “Because people are coming in lines and buying because it’s the last hurrah,” Esau said.

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Esau looked through a window in between bites and pointed at a seat in the corner of the bakery, near the cash register.

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“That’s my seat,” she said.

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Papadopoulos and Esau had been friends for years. They would sit at the family seat and talk about business, staff, customers and whatever strategies a business owner could share to help one another.

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“I understand why they’re closing,” Esau said. “Business is very different now and we have many challenges now that we did not have pre-COVID, and expenses are much higher.

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“Business owners, as a whole, can tend to be resilient until they’re not,” she added. “You’re fighting until you can’t do it anymore.”

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But the family left the bakery operation on a high note. Esau said she was hopeful that they would reappear with another business. “But, as far as I’ve heard right now, they just need a break.”

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Markings on a metal post show the literal growth of the children of Nutty Greek Bake Shop staff. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

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Years of memories

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Right next to the register stood a tall metal post where height measurements of owners’ children have been marked in black over the years.