California bakery owners blame backlash over pro-Palestine stance for closure after 50-year run

The owners of a shuttered California bakery are blaming political backlash for their 50-year-old institution’s closure, calming their bold political statements — including criticism of ICE and staunch support of Palestine, saw them booted off Instagram and contributed to the eatery’s demise.

Nabloom Bakery & Pizzerra in Berkeley closed for good on Sunday after a half-century in business. The Bay Area fixture, known for its fruit Danish pastries and sourdough pizzas, initially cited rising ingredient and utility costs as the reason behind their closure.

Now, owners Julia Elliott and Sabra Stepak are going further, saying controversy over their political beliefs hurt the business.

“We’ve always been upfront about our political views. It has now threatened our livelihood,” Elliott and Stepak wrote in a Facebook post.

The owners said they received backlash for a “Defund the Police” mural and a “Teach Palestine” poster they put up outside their business several years ago.

“We were also kicked off instagram for reposting an image of a BART car tagged with ‘Fuck-Ice’ in our story,” they wrote.

Sales for the business dropped 20% once they were “kicked off” Instagram, the owners claim.

“Then, our anti-up-zoning position brought word of a boycott on list-serves/reddit/WhatsApp,” they continued.

The bakery also struggled to meet demand from customers, and many of their workers could not afford to live in Berkeley, leading to low employee retention.

“We raised prices and the gross stayed flat. Raising prices is more consequential for some customers than others, we didn’t love that,” the owners said.

Nabloom first opened in 1976 as a worker collective. In 2004, the business hit a snag and nearly closed as owners announced it was nearly $30,000 in debt and two months behind on rent.

In 2015, the bakery closed after the departure of several collective members. The business was soon bought by Elliott and Stepak, who paid off their debts and transitioned it to private ownership.

Nabloom’s fans showed up in a big way following the announcement of its closure last week.

The eatery a line out the door between 8 and 11 a.m. on Friday, October 16, and sold out of pastries, Stepak told SFGATE.

Elliott and Stepak say they now hope their business can be saved by a “young, energetic” food lover.

“We’ve always wanted to just have a neighborhood bakery and be authentically ourselves, so others can also be authentically themselves. We’re not in a popularity contest. We did our very best & have left everything on the field,” the post continued.

“We’re proud of being part of the Berkeley we have loved for over 50 years. We love Nabolom and the community around it.”

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