I have been going to Pastry Cafe since it opened in the 80's and always loved their pastries and sandwiches. After today, I will not be going again. After ordering my sandwich (which was $2 more than it had been before and half the size). I waited by the pastry case and was horrified by the condition of the baked goods "for sale". Apparently, the owners "strategy" is to display old, stale and putrid looking cakes and pastries in the hopes of attracting a hungry customer and I suppose (and hope) retrieving a fresh one from the back. Instead, all he is attracting is flies, which buzzed around the case between their regular stops to land on the food . The fruit tart had clearly rotting fruit, chocolate cakes so stale the chocolate frosting was turning white, a pathetic looking napoleon with custard that looked like it had solidified. Several customers came perusing the case as I was standing there, everyone was equally appalled by what they saw. It's a shame that this fellow has destroyed what over the years became a local favorite that was always crowded (today 1/2 the tables were empty). Two employees were doing all the work including ringing and making the sandwiches. In the past the bakery had 6+ people working. Obviously he is too cheap to see the business is failing right before his eyes. A sad story.
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