Holidays mark busy season at McKeesport bakery

Minerva Bakery, a community favorite for more than a century, is working overtime to make sure Thanksgiving orders are ready.

As families in the Mon Valley get ready for Thanksgiving dinner, Minerva Bakery is busy at its McKeesport location, making delicious pumpkin pies to sweeten their tables.

Sherri Toth takes out freshly baked paska bread out of an oven.

Thanksgiving and the December holidays are some of the busiest times of the year for the bakery, according to manager Erica Ashcroft. From sweet-smelling paska bread to decorated Thanksgiving cakes, Minerva Bakery is working around the clock to complete orders.

“During the holidays, they come in the kitchen, and they start baking around 1 to 2 a.m. in the morning, and then we’re here until 4:30 in the afternoon,” Ashcroft said. “We usually start at the beginning of

Kayla Egenlauf, one of the pastry decorators at Minerva Bakery, prepares a cake.

the month, like the beginning of November. We’ll take orders for pies, paska cakes, that kind of stuff. Same thing with Christmas. We’ll start at the beginning of the month. Same with Easter.”

Ashcroft said one of the more popular items during the holidays is their paska bread, which is a type of Easter bread that is native to populations in Eastern Europe.

Sherri Toth is in charge of baking the paska bread, and this week she’s spent time baking large batches.

During a tour with the Mon Valley Independent, Toth was seen taking out a dozen large loaves of paska bread from a large metal oven — on top of what they already had in their front area of the bakery.

Ashcroft said they had four bakers, five people helping in the storefront area and three people decorating pastries. She added that, besides the paska bread, some of their top sellers include buttercream donuts and Danish cookies.

“Right now we have nut rolls, apricot rolls, cheese rolls, poppy seed, lekvar,” she said. “We do different cakes for the holidays. We try to stay with the seasons, like apples and pumpkin in the fall, that kind of stuff. Lady locks are always a big thing as well for any occasion.”

Ashcroft said they expected to be working non-stop on Tuesday and today in preparation for Thanksgiving.

Ashcroft said the bakery opened in McKeesport in 1923 and has been part of the community ever since. George Monezis was the founder of the bakery.

“I think it’s a good thing we’ve been here for so long,” Ashcroft said. “Not a lot of things in this area last that long. Everything right here on this little strip has lasted at least 100 years. So it speaks volumes for just the business itself.”

Located on 927 Fifth Ave., Minerva Bakery is one of the remaining businesses along that portion of Fifth Avenue. Ashcroft said the bakery has regulars who come by on a daily basis.

Ashcroft emphasized the importance of fresh-baked goods, something that is made obvious by the smell of pastries as customers walk into their location.

“Everything’s fresh. We’ve been here for 102 years for a reason,” Ashcroft said. “Nothing is brought in. We make it all here every single day. Most people, though, they’re loyal, they’re here daily.”

They’re open from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Ashcroft said they’re typically closed on Sundays and Mondays. Customers can call the bakery at 412-6732863 to place an order.

“They can order it on the phone, or you can come in the weeks of holidays like Christmas, we’re usually closed Sunday and Monday,” she said. “We’re open the Sunday and Monday before Christmas to give people a little bit more time, trying to avoid the lines a little bit, but all they’ve got to do, really, is call on the phone and order it.”