WOLFEBORO, New Hampshire (Beth McEvoy) — Many New England towns have that place that helps give the town a unique identity, a place people come to depend on for the way it seems to never change.
Whether it is the ice cream shop, the old drive-in, the skating rink or a local bakery; it can be hard to watch these seasoned institutions as they near an their ending.
Small New England town tries to save a local bakery in the cutest way! #NEWSCENTERmaine pic.twitter.com/2ze1kPHefL
— WCSH 6 (@WCSH6) July 18, 2017
The small community of Wolfeboro that sits on the edge of Lake Winnipesaukee, has one such place and the residents there are not letting it go with out a charming fight.
Bob McGraw has been coming to Wolfeboro since he was a young boy and now divides his time between New Hampshire and Vermont.
"I remember coming as a kid. My parents would bring here and then when we got a little older, we'd come here."
The Yum Yum Shop is just as it sounds: according to locals the yummiest spot in all of Wolfboro serving homemade donuts, cookies, breads and their famous gingerbread men for more than 68 years.
This summer, after the bakery did not open, neon signs anonymously popped up all over the shop pleading for the bakery to come back. The signs have garnered a lot of attention and even started a petition of sorts to restore The Yum Yum Shop to it's original glory.
While people may not agree on what was the best part of The Yum Yum Shop they can agree Wolfeboro is not the same without it.
"I saw the signs and I thought they were having some special sale. I certainly wanted to come to get some of my special breads. Their pastries were fantastic. I am disappointed to hear they are closing," says summer resident Janet.
Bob Hughes is the President of the real estate agency listing the business for sale. He says the owners, the Kelly family, are hard working people who have tried to make the business work.
Peter Kelly says his grandparents who were from Germany began the bakery in 1948. Later his father Louis Kelly would take the reigns of the family business and he would run it until Alzheimer forced him to retire in 2010.
Peter has been the sole baker for the last six years but his father's memory is still fresh in the community.
"It's a busy place in the summer but it is hard to make a year round living in some of these business. The Kelly family has done an amazing job and (The Yum Yum Shop) has been a staple of the area," says Hughes.
Hughes says the anonymous signs serve as a testament that Wolfboro residents both seasonal and permanent want to preserve the town's heritage, and that includes the bakery they enjoyed as kids and have introduced to their kids and now even their grandkids.
"Everyone in town just wishes it would come back, it was just one of the attractions for kids especially," says McGraw.
The shop is for sale.
