Sun sets on Sunrise Bakery

The sun has set on a local favorite.

Sunrise Bakery in Dartmouth shut its doors for the final time Saturday May 27 at 4 p.m., leaving many regulars unsure where they will go.

"It was a place to go, have coffee, talk with your friends," said Raymond Borges, who visited the bakery daily. "Now I don't know where we’re going to go."

The bakery is closing after 43 years in Dartmouth because the owners are ready to retire.

The news of the bakery closing comes after an announcement in January that owners Manny Amaral, Inez Pacheco and Joe Amaral had plans to sell the business. However, at the time they said that the Dartmouth and New Bedford locations are "not closing."

The bakery first opened in a strip mall on Russells Mills Road in 1980 and moved to its current spot at 571 Dartmouth Street in the 1990s.

Regulars are disappointed that the bakery is closing. Some customers have been visiting for their entire lives.

"I’m super sad that they’re closing, I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid, every weekend," said Anne Esperanca. "It's just a happy place to get breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday … [but] I’m glad they’re getting to retire."

The bakery is respected for its beloved sweets and the kind service.

Freddy Frates, another daily visitor, explained that the bakery doesn't have any steps to get in, so it is very accessible to people with mobility issues.

He also noted that the staff don't care how long he and his friends stay at a table, unlike other restaurants that rely on table turnover to profit.