Edgewood Bakery reopens under new leadership

Financial battle ends with Shad Khan's company gaining control of iconic bakery

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Edgewood Bakery reopened this week under new management.

The iconic bakery in Murray Hill had been closed after a legal battle with Stache Investments, which is owned by Jaguars owner Shad Khan. That battle ended with Khan gaining majority ownership, after the previous owners borrowed $800,000 from Stache Investments.

After some financial difficulties, Stache Investments gained control of the business, and it had been closed for inventory since the end of February.

The bakery reopened Tuesday is now being run by Gary Ray Polletta, the son of the bakery's founder, who was also the lead baker at the restaurant.

The bakery went through some renovations, including new paint, countertops, display cases, signage and a new air conditioning unit, which is why it took longer than expected to reopen.

Much of the staff has returned.

"We know just about everybody who comes in here," bakery manager Megan Bennett said. "They know us, we know them. We have our regulars and then when we meet new people, we're just excited to see that somebody else is trying us out."

Bill Wiggins has been buying pastries here for 30 years.  

"I'm happy. They're the best bakery in town," Wiggins said.

The smell of homemade cookies, doughnuts, and cupcakes wafted down the street Friday, drawing in people by the dozen for a dozen.

Pastor Mike Hailey said he was surprising a church member with a cake "just because."

"I went to Murray Hill Methodist Preschool, so my family has a lot of history with Murray Hill and with Edgewood Bakery, so it's worth a drive from Orange Park," Hailey said.

Murray Hill seems happy to have Edgewood Bakery back "baking the best since 1947" as the bakery's slogan goes.

The café part of the Edgewood Bakery that serves breakfast and lunch has no yet reopened, but might do so down the road.