A sweet ending for Mirabella’s Bakery

TEWKSBURY — Mira­bella’s Bakery has been a fixture in Tewksbury since 1974, and will close its doors on Oct. 16. Owner Anita Mi­ra­bella Potter said the outpouring of letters, calls, and tears has been heartwarming and wonderful.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Mirabella Potter.

Mirabella Potter’s parents, Paul and Maria Mira­bella, opened Sonia’s bakery in Wilmington in 1972, named for their daughter. Soon after, the bakery moved to Oakdale Mall, then to a space across the street from where McDonald’s is now.

The bakery stayed in that location for 20 years, eventually moving to a building further down on Main Street that Mirabella had built.

“It’s a three unit building with an elevator,” said Mi­rabella Potter, explaining that she’s not sure if an­other bakery or other type of business will occupy the space.

The small house next door is also part of the property.

“We used to rent it out, but just use it for storage now,” Mirabella Potter said.

Paul Mirabella passed away in 2000, and was dedicated to his craft.

“We’ve kept all of my dad’s recipes,” said Mira­bella Potter, who has been working at the bakery herself for over 30 years.

Known for their cakes, macaroons, pizza and calzones, the Italian cookies are probably the biggest seller.

“People heard we are clo­sing and are ordering coo­kies ahead for Thanks­giv­ing,” said Mirabella Potter.

While the storefront will be closing, she still is fulfilling their obligations for weddings and events through the end of the month.

“You can freeze the cookies,” Mirabella Potter said, referencing the influx of orders from long time customers.

The pandemic definitely had an impact on the bakery, said Mirabella Potter, but they made it through.

“We made bread… we sold a lot of bread… we were a small, safe place for people to go instead of venturing to the grocery stores,” said Mirabella Potter.

People still bought cakes to celebrate birthdays through COVID, though ordered smaller ones as large gatherings were not happening. Mirabella Potter said that the bakery had to focus on the more popular items instead of their whole line.

“Supplies were hard to come by and our customers were very patient,” she said. “There was nothing but positivity during CO­VID.”

Mirabella Potter said her mother, Maria, is in the bakery every day and the customers love to see her.

“We’ve really gotten closer to our customers over the last 18 months… but the time has come and we want to go out on a high note,” said Mirabella Pot­ter, saying that this is a happy transition on to the next thing for them, and that they are not closing due to any hardship.

“We always knew at some point we would have to close down. This has always been our home,” said Mi­rabella Potter. We wish them all the best.