OCEAN CITY – Wards Pastry, a mainstay of Asbury Avenue for nearly a century, a place where locals and visitors alike bought all kinds of delicious baked goods, is closing.
In a post on its Facebook page Saturday, Sept. 10, the bakery at 730 Asbury Ave. announced, “After being an Ocean City tradition for over 98 years, Wards Pastry will be turning off its ovens Sunday, September 18, 2022 for the last time.
“The Hohman family would like to thank everyone for choosing Wards Pastry to be part of their celebrations through all of these years. Thank you for all of your support!”
Wards Pastry has been known for its cookies, cupcakes, doughnuts, cakes and other goodies, including its unique “world famous scrapple pie,” under the guidance of Walt Hohman. It also sports a collection of vintage cookie jars above the racks and cases of baked goods that greet patrons as they arrived and cause many to have to ponder their choices from the many enticing selections.
Since its announcement, people have shared the Facebook post and added their memories about the bakery.
Hohman started working at the business when he was 12. This past summer marked his 45th year at Wards. He has owned the business for 34 years.
In an interview with the Sentinel’s visitors guide, the Ocean City Sure Guide, he said his grandfather purchased the baker from Mrs. Ward in 1941. “It was already well established then, so they kept the name.”
He said he worked his way up from the bottom.
“I just started washing pans, mopping the floor and moved up to making and filling doughnuts to right on up the line to doing everything,” he said in an interview last summer.
Hohman said the nature of bakeries had changed in the second half of the 20th century. Before, people shopped at bakeries because there wasn’t the convenience of big supermarkets, going there for fresh bread.
“Back then, the independent bakery was very popular, and everybody went there on a regular basis,” he said. “Now you have supermarkets with in-store bakeries, you have Wawas that serve breakfast foods, Dunkin’ Donuts all over the place … all of that is basically a competition for this industry.”
He explained that supermarkets prove more convenient because shoppers can pick up baked goods when they go to get other supplies, without having to make a special trip.
Hohman said what has set Wards Pastry and other local bakeries apart is quality – a driving reason to make that extra trip.
“I love making something from scratch,” Hohman said. “So many people enjoy it.”
He noted that its large following of customers included vacationers whose families have been coming to Wards Pastry for generations.
Editor’s note: The Ocean City Sure Guide story was written by Elizabeth Little.
