A Phoenix bakery closed its doors for good because they could not find enough employees to hire.
According to Arizona's Family, Salomae Schroeder, the owner of My Gal Sal Bakery and Café in Phoenix decided to close her business when she had to make the tough choice to either resign her lease or close up shop.
"For me, I feel today like my best friend just died because I have to walk away from all of this," Schroeder said.
Friday (November 20) was the last day for the beloved bakery. "I'm going to miss a lot of my customers who have become my friends,' Schroeder said.
Schroeder opened the bakery after she moved to Phoenix from overseas. She noted that the bakery was voted Best Bakery in the Valley in both 2018 and 2019 and was doing really well, until the pandemic hit.
Schroeder said she recently had 24 people apply for the opening positions, but 16 did not answer her call back and a couple other applicants did not show up for their interview. "I'm just mentally exhausted. I just can't do it alone anymore," Schroeder told Arizona's Family.
She also added that her employees were getting above minimum wage and received year-end bonuses, but it was still hard to find workers.
Without any help, she had been working over 14 hours a day to keep the bakery running. "This has been an awful experience for me," she noted
As of now, Schroeder doesn't know what is next for her, but she plans to use the ingredients to bake and donate the delicious treats to a local food bank.
"I will always be so thankful for all of the support I've had over the years," Schroeder said.