FARGO – After 92 years in business, Quality Bakery will close its doors at the end of April.

Owners Pete and Marcene Fendt put the business on the market seven years ago. The goal was always to sell it as a working bakery, but the couple decided to accept an offer on the building alone made Monday.

“We told our employees Wednesday before we signed the offer so they were the first to know,” Pete Fendt said. “The saddest part about the whole thing is that we have such a great crew. Everybody gets along great. They work hard. They’re just nice people to be around.”

He hopes to use his contacts in the industry to help all 17 employees find jobs elsewhere.

Notifying brides who had placed wedding cake orders for this summer was another priority. Marcene Fendt wanted to contact each of them before news of the sale broke so they would not panic. The plan is to find temporary space in a licensed commercial kitchen so they can fill any orders for after April 30.

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Other than the offer referencing a training facility, Fendt said he does not know anything about the new owners.

History

Fendt is the second generation to own the bakery that opened in downtown Fargo in 1923. His father, Erwin Fendt, joined Quality Bakery in 1956 and became a part owner in 1969.

The building currently home to the bakery on South University Drive was built in 1972. Pete Fendt started working there full time the following year.

He became an owner in 1982 and eventually bought out his father and another partner.

The Fendts decided to sell the business after Marcene was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. A few years later, Pete was diagnosed with melanoma.

“We’re both doing really well now, but I don’t want to wait to sell until I’m crippled and can’t walk,” Pete Fendt said. “Both of us like to travel. We like seeing different parts of the country. Actually, we like visiting bakeries.”

Fendt had hoped to work at the bakery at least part time until he turns 65 in four years. Instead, he recently dug out his resume.

“For everybody here, this is life changing,” Fendt said. “Some of us more than others, but it is what it is.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter Angie Wieck at (701) 241-5501