Minerva Bakery in McKeesport celebrates 100 years
MCKEESPORT, Pa. (KDKA) — A McKeesport staple is celebrating a major milestone.
Minerva Bakery turned 100 years old this month.
"This bakery has been here for so long," customer Sandy Main said. "It has a great reputation, and everybody comes here for their goods."
Inside the small family-owned business on 5th Avenue, the dedicated team of bakers gets up at 3 a.m. each morning to prepare fresh items for the McKeesport community.
"Everything from cookies to pies, fruit pies, crème pies, carrot cakes, birthday cakes," manager Erica Ashcroft said.
"We have four people back there who do everything by hand," employee Sharon Blankenship said.
Kathy Monezis Harvey said the business has been in her family since 1923. It all started with her grandfather, who migrated here from Greece. She said he learned the business of baking while working on a Russian cruise ship and eventually settled in McKeesport.
He then opened his dream business, and the rest is history.
"My parents lived on the third floor," she said. "My grandparents lived on the second floor. We would come down the steps, come into the bakery and we worked. My father took over the trade from my grandparents."
She said she feels thankful for all of the employees and customers who have helped the business thrive over the past century.
While faces may have changed over generations, the family says most of their recipes have not.
