California bakery owners blame backlash over pro-Palestine stance for closure after 50-year run

The owners of a shuttered California bakery are blaming political backlash for their 50-year-old institution’s closure, calming their bold political statements — including criticism of ICE and staunch support of Palestine, saw them booted off Instagram and contributed to the eatery’s demise.Nabloom Bakery & Pizzerra in Berkeley closed for good on Sunday after a half-century in business.The Bay Area fixture, known for its fruit Danish pastries and sourdough pizzas, initially cited rising ingredient and utility costs as the reason behind their closure.Now, owners Julia Elliott and Sabra Stepak are going further, saying controversy over their political beliefs hurt the business.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story “We’ve always been upfront about our political views.

It has now threatened our livelihood,” Elliott and Stepak wrote in a Facebook post.The owners said they received backlash for a “Defund the Police” mural and a “Teach Palestine” poster they put up outside their business several years ago.“We were also kicked off instagram for reposting an image of a BART car tagged with ‘Fuck-Ice’ in our story,” they wrote.

Sales for the business dropped 20% once they were “kicked off” Instagram, the owners claim.“Then, our anti-up-zoning position brought word of a boycott on list-serves/reddit/WhatsApp,” they continued.The bakery also struggled to meet demand from customers, and many of their workers could not afford to live in Berkeley, leading to low employee retention.“We raised prices and the gross stayed flat.

Raising prices is more consequential for some customers than others, we didn’t love that,” the owners said.Nabloom first opened in 1976 as a worker collective.

In 2004, the business hit a snag and nearly clos...