62-Year-Old Lonsdale Street Bakery International Cakes Closes for Good Today

Lonsdale Street institution International Cakes is officially closing.

The Greek bakery – known for its loukoumi, baklava and rum baba – has been serving up pastries, cakes, tarts and slices since 1962.

But the shop, owned by Bill Batzogioannis, will turn on the ovens for the last time today. “The time has come for me to retire,” Batzogioannis told Broadsheet.

Batzogioannis says he and former co-owner Manolis Yovanoglou, who left the business five years ago due to illness, considered other options, but finding someone else to run the place solo was too difficult.

Perfectly positioned in the heart of Melbourne’s Greek Precinct, International Cakes has been an important place for Melbourne’s Greek community, which is home to the largest Greek diaspora outside of Greece and Cyprus, for 62 years.

“[Closing] affects a lot of people. People knew the shop, and they wanted it to continue. They want me to continue, but unfortunately, I can’t. It’s going to affect our people, many people are sad to see us going,” Batzogioannis says.

“We have cherished the relationships we have built with each and every one of our loyal customers and are sincerely grateful for your continued support throughout the years,” Batzogioannis wrote in a note to the community. “It has been an honour to serve you and be a part of your lives.”

There’s no word yet on what will take over the storied space, but we’d say this sad news calls for one last round of baklava.