Business Buzz: Wellesley Bakery celebrates 30 years; Bank of America shakes off chains; Sign up for summer camp

The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

Wellesley Bakery takes the cake, celebrates 30th anniversary

“I never thought it would last past six months,” Wellesley Bakery owner Mara Nuon said. “I almost ran out of money.”

Thirty years later, its hard to imagine a Wellesley without Wellesley Bakery and the Nuon family behind the counter. Glimpses of Mara are fleeting. Most of the time he’s downstairs working on the perfect croissant dough or stirring a huge vat of soup. “I’m like an iceberg 95% downstairs, 5% up,” he says.

His gregarious sister, Sam, is a front-of-the-house presence, along with his wife Socheat, and other family members. Some have worked at the 12-seat Wellesley Bakery for years, some just for a little while. In fact, the incubation of Wellesley Bakery was all about family. 1n 1994 thanks to his chemistry degree from UMass Boston, Mara was decidedly on the corporate fast track, working as a chemical engineer on Route 128, known back then as “America’s Technology Highway.” In his “spare time” he decided to open Wellesley Bakery as an income stream and a way to ensure that family members would always have a job.

Life was moving fast, alright. “I was running back and forth, juggling the two.” he said, a work schedule that simply wasn’t tenable. After both his father and uncle died in their 50s, Mara found himself the head of the family. He made the hard decision to go all in with the Bakery.

“People didn’t understand why I quit chemistry. My boss would call, asking me to come back, saying the door was always open. But I wanted to make sure that any family members who needed a job would have one.”

Negotiate a river by following its bends

It’s an ethos that grew out of Mara’s life experiences. As a young teenager his family fled widespread violence in Cambodia, and lived in several refugee camps. Eventually they were able to start a stable life in Stoughton, Massachusetts, where school became a top priority. He’s been back to Cambodia a few times since then, experiences he referred to as “emotional,” before growing quiet.

The mental toughness he’s developed over the years came in handy during the pandemic, a time that brought unexpected measures of grace. With Wellesley Bakery shuttered for three months, Mara says it was the  lifelong relationships he’d built with his customers that kept him going. Closed doors couldn’t stop his supporters. Early mornings he’d look in on the store and find envelopes that had been slipped under the door, many containing checks, all with words of encouragement.

Mara says these expressions of support gave him courage. Coming from him, that speaks volumes. Thanks to the support of his customers, he knew Wellesley Bakery would make it through. “I said, we’ll be back.”

As far as staying on another 30 years—longer than most Wellesley residents live here—well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Frankly, the six-days/80-hour work week is a lot. “There’s not many people who can last as long as we do. The grit, the grind. I just take it all one day at a time,” he says.

Mara credits his customers for their support and generosity, and his family for their determination. One family member is a computer scientist in Silicon Valley; another is an administrator at MIT; another works as an accountant, just to mention a few. Mara is very proud that they have found success. He hopes his children Luke (11) and Bella (9) will choose to go to college. “School develops the mind, the thinking, and helps with becoming a productive member of society,” he says.

Mara’s life has been a combination of big gambles and a series of tradeoffs. “I did it because of necessity. Sometimes the cause is bigger than yourself, so you find a way.”

RESTAURANT: Wellesley Bakery, 542 Washington St, Wellesley Square
HOURS: Monday-Saturday, 7am-3:30pm; closed Sunday
ON THE MENU: Croissants, scones, cookies and other baked goods, along with soups, sandwiches, salads and more.

Bank of America, unchained

The Wellesley Hills Bank of America at 342 Washington Street has recently shed the chain-link security fence that has ringed the property since it started major renovations in November 2022. Still no word on an exact reopening date, just that it will be “coming soon.”

In the meantime, there’s always the Linden Square BoA branch for your banking needs. Hours here.

Wellesley summer camp spotlight—NEOC

SPONSORED CONTENT: There is still a chance for kids to join NEOC in nature this summer where they’ll experience outdoor excitement, discovery, and fun. NEOC is a throw-back to vintage summer camps where children explored and played outside at an easy pace, without any technology at all.