For the first time in its iconic 51-year Pittsburgh history, Prantl's and its burnt almond torte have crossed a river.
The legendary bakery, which started in Shadyside and has since sprouted locations in Squirrel Hill and the eastern suburbs, has taken over Priory Fine Pastries on the North Side. Prantl’s was a natural choice, Priory owner John Graf said.
“We decided in a strategic manner to say let's concentrate on our lodging and events businesses and nurse that back to health coming out of COVID.
“The bakery was a nice complementary business, but we don't necessarily know the bakery business. So we’re better off having somebody come in that’s top rated,”
The Priory Hotel, at 614 Pressley St., is less than a quarter-mile from the bakery.
The bakery, Graf said, “was a nice addition to the neighborhood. People liked it. So there were two things that we were interested in doing there. One was preserving a storefront bakery and number two was preserving the jobs of our employees. Prantl’s was interested in both of those. And so we're like, ‘OK, let's do it.’”
The transaction occurred in August but became clear recently.
“I think last week they closed for a while just to kind of hit reset,” Graf said. “I think that created the impression that we shut the lights out, and interest bubbled up, but that was never the case.”
Graf said the Priory Fine Pastries name was licensed to Prantl’s until July 31 as part of the transaction, but he expects them to switch the name over sometime in the new year.
Dan Gigler: gdgigler@post-gazette.com; @gigs412 on Instagram and Twitter.
First Published: December 17, 2021, 3:05 p.m.
