Drake Bakery (former)
About This Listing
Place Details
- Borough: Brooklyn
- Neighborhood: Clinton Hill
- Categories: Historic Site & Museum, Industrial
Place Matters Profile
Place Matters Profile
Begun in 1896 in Brooklyn, Drake Bakery, Inc., was a family-owned factory that pioneered in the mass-production of wholesale cakes and individually wrapped slices. With a need to expand, modernize and lower costs, the bakery relocated to New Jersey in 1980 as part of the de-industrialization affecting many cities in the Northeastern U.S. at the time. The Brooklyn Drake workers protested the move and organized themselves, winning the right to keep their jobs at the new location and securing bus transportation to the new plant in New Jersey.
Nominations
Ann Meyerson
Drake’s Bakery was a family-owned factory that began in Brooklyn and produced world-famous baked treats for decades. In the 1970s, it was relocated to New Jersey as part of de-industrialization sweeping northeastern U.S. at the time. Drake workers in Brooklyn protested the move. After much organizing, they won the right to keep their old jobs at the new plant as well as bus transportation to New Jersey. But sadly, Brooklyn lost the company to the move to New Jersey.
