Bethel Bakery owner carries on family tradition
Stephen Walsh remembers his first paid day working at Bethel Bakery. It was Halloween 2009. He was a 14-year-old freshman at Bethel Park High School.
He recalled not wanting to work at the bakery; after all, he had grown up in the business.
“As soon as you could stand on a bucket, you started to work there,” he said.
Walsh’s sisters, Patty, Cami and Maria, were already employed at Bethel Bakery. Plus, his father, John, owned the company started by Morris and Anna Walsh in three attached garages on South Park Road in 1955.
“All they ever did was talk about the bakery at home, and I just kind of didn’t want anything to deal with it. So I was really dreading my first day working in the back on the prep crew,” Walsh said.
Walsh made friends at the bakery, and as he grew older, he took on more responsibilities, especially during the summer months when he was on break from his studies at Penn State University. Upon college graduation, he went to work full time with Hub Group, a logistics company based out of Chicago.
Walsh, however, grew nostalgic.
“I realized I missed working with my hand, and I missed working for my family,” he said.
Walsh not only was drawn back to the bakery, he yearned to carry on its legacy. Today, at age 30, he owns Bethel Bakery.
“Having grown up in the business, I knew it would be hard to walk away,” Walsh said. “I wanted to keep it going.
Since assuming ownership on July 1, 2023, Walsh has kept Bethel Bakery in the forefront among pastry shops. It continues to be the go-to bakery in the South Hills and Washington County.
In fact, the business opened a second location at 2500 Washington Road in North Strabane to complement its original storefront at 5200 Brightwood Road in Bethel Park.
“It’s been a pretty smooth transition,” Walsh said of taking over the reins. “It was pretty seamless. [My first day] was a pretty uneventful day.”
Walsh admitted there “definitely” is some pressure to carry on the legacy, but his family is “supportive” of his choice to run the enterprise. In fact, Walsh’s aunts and uncles as well as his father continue to work there.
John Walsh works part time because he says that he loves “the people, the product and the process” – in that order. He also swells with pride while acknowledging his son’s dedication to the company, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary.
The younger Walsh resides in Bethel Park with his wife, Kate, and their newborn, Eleanor. Additionally, his in-laws relocated from Philadelphia to the South Hills.
“I see Stephen getting to the 100-year mark because he’s only 30. I see that happening,” Walsh said. “He’s all about it.”
Keeping the brand going is the young entrepreneur’s objective. He says that one of his “biggest challenges” is replicating the past in today’s trip to the bakery as well as enjoying eating the confections.
“People want to have that same experience that they remember when they were growing up and having this birthday cake and they want their kids to have that same experience. So keeping that tradition going is probably one of the most important things we hope to recreate today, 10 and even 20 years from now.”