Breaking: Bed-Stuy’s Beloved SCRATCHbread Is Closing Next Week

By Kristin Iversen

The delicious grits from SCRATCHbread.
photo by Jane Bruce

In case you heard the collective cries of “OH NO!!!!” coming from the Brooklyn Magazine offices a few minutes ago and were wondering what the bad news could possibly be, well, brace yourself: SCRATCHbread is closing next week. Yeah, that’s right, everyone’s favorite Bed-Stuy bakery is shutting down permanently on October 11, meaning you have ten more days to get in on some of the best baked goods possible. 

Via a message to the many SCRATCHbread fans out there, founder Matt Tilden announced that the bakery would be 86’ed and composed this goodbye poem:

I dont want to take this from you, honestly
but I cant fix it myself

I built this with two hands, a dream and a ton of hard work
but thats not enough

Small business is a brutal, endless beating
if you cant get ahead

I mean, i was paying rent in focaccia when I began
I’ve been lucky, taken risks

After 6 plus years,
Ive learned its better to do it right,
or dont do it at all

it was the greatest feeling
watching you grow this thing

But Ive used up every single drip of passion I had
Now I’m burnt toast

I’m gonna spend some time writing
Ive got a books worth of stuff I know you could use-
So take value from my failures & learn from my mistakes
But, I also wanna just cook with you, break bread

This business works, but not like this.
Just one investor would have changed everything
a partner would have made things smarter
I’m tired of only hearing myself think

            You know,
nutthin has ever been easy for me
so I’ll take this one on the chin
bruised soul, lost pride & all
this one hurts…

This thing aint supposed to die though,
its a brand for the people,
its not about some chefs ego,
hyped trend or like anything else really
Its supposed to be approachable, fun, wholesome
and no matter what, absolutely delicious

It’s bullshit I have to destroy the most important thing in my life

This thing created opportunities, supported so many
now, ive got more debt than 3 lifetimes

after the flour has settled,
I’ll still be there with fucking bells on
waiting to give you another bite of something delicious
so stay hungry my peoples
Thanks for the LUV

Tilden invites everyone to come and say goodbye to the team over the next week, which is surely what we’ll be doing, while weeping into already perfectly seasoned grits. We’ll miss you SCRATCHbread. We really will. And we’ll let this weeks-old tweet from SCRATCHbread’s account after another beloved Bed-Stuy spot, Do or Dine, closed serve as a reminder to frequent the neighborhood spots you love, lest they go out of business:

people, if you dont frequent places you love, they die. We are next if our ‘regulars’ keep visiting once a year :/. http://t.co/UICVJ4Siy2

— SCRATCHbread Bklyn (@SCRATCHbread) September 16, 2015