And for 59 years, they were. Aromas from LaCasse’s Bakery would waft throughout Little Canada, tempting patrons to plunk down their hard-earned cash for a piece of homemade goodness.

But mounting business expenses coupled with a changing market combined to close the long-standing family business. Friday was its last day.

“It’s sad for us to go, and our customers have told us they’re sad to see us go,” said Emile LaCasse Jr., who’s been running the day-to-day operations at the bakery for his parents, who still own the business.

He and some employees were cleaning out the bakery Monday, taking unsalvageable equipment to the dump and getting other items ready for sale. Cases of unused pie plates and bakery boxes leaned against an empty refrigeration case dotted with labels of its former contents: Chicken pies, salmon pies, tourtieres.

“Pies are what we were known for,” said LaCasse. “Everything was made from scratch and the crusts were so good.”

LaCasse’s parents, Emile Sr. and Florence, opened a small lunch counter in 1945 at the corner of Oxford and Chestnut streets, serving the multitude of people who worked in nearby mills. Since the workers only had a half-hour for lunch, the fare was simple and often served buffet style.

LaCasse said patrons frequently asked his father if they could order an entire pie after sampling just a slice. One day Emile Sr. surveyed his counter crowded with pies as he waited for the end of the work day so people could pick up their orders.

“He said There’s something wrong here. I’m busting my butt for a half-hour’s worth of business and then there’s nothing until the mills get out. I’m going into the bakery business,'” said LaCasse.

LaCasse Sr. closed the lunch counter and opened the bakery, working side by side with his wife. The bakery had a rhythm. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, employees would work around the clock to fill almost 6,000 holiday pie orders; during Lent they would prepare salmon pies by the hundreds.

LaCasse supplied pies for many area restaurants, including the Village Inn and Edward’s, as well as supermarket chains such as Hannaford, Shaw’s and smaller grocery stores.

“Bourque’s on Sabattus would order 100 to 150 cream pies every Thanksgiving,” said LaCasse.

One day during a holiday season, customers were lined up out the door and past where the Royal Hotel once stood, waiting for their pies.

“And that was with two girls at the registers and four or five people running orders,” said LaCasse.

But times changed. Retailers began asking that the bakery deliver frozen pies, so they could better control their inventory, rather than having pies delivered fresh once or twice a week. But LaCasse said his father wouldn’t hear of it.

“He didn’t want to go frozen – he’d always taken pride in offering pies fresh off the shelf,” said LaCasse.

Retailers were also cutting back in general while the costs of business continued to climb. LaCasse said that the small business could not do much to stay competitive with the bigger companies, which could order supplies in volume and turn out products at lower prices and still make their margins. He said the bakery had been losing money for the past four or five years and it was time to quit.

But it was a hard decision. Many customers asked what they could do to make the LaCasse family change its mind. Although they were touched by the interest, there were no answers.

Emile Jr. said the one bright spot was knowing he could spend holidays with his family for the first time. A father of three, LaCasse said he worked nonstop during the holidays.

“I hate to see the place go, but my kids are pretty excited that I’ll get to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with them,” he said.

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