Euro-Style Bakery Closes Permanently After 3 Years Serving Delco

SWARTHMORE, PA — Pastry Pants, an award-winning bakery in Swarthmore, has permanently closed after three years.

The European-style bakery's last day was this past Saturday.

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Owner Robert Smythe was a theater artist by trade, whose background included puppetry at Philadelphia's Mum Puppettheatre, which he founded.

Smythe was a passionate home cook and baker. But when theaters closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, his next act brought him to the culinary world, according to a profile by Visit Delco.

In 2023, Smythe converted his detached garage into a bakery, drawing long lines to the structure behind his home. Pastry Pants moved into a storefront in the heart of Swarthmore in 2024 — the same year it was voted Best Bakery in Delco.

Pastry Pants closed the curtains last weekend, with one last sale of key lime pie bars and cupcakes.

"We're grateful to have played a role in so many celebrations of people's lives, as well as keeping everyone supplied with freshly baked bread and pastries," Smythe said on the bakery's Instagram page. "We know the news is shocking, but a combination of many factors led to the realization that, in today's climate of escalating prices and decisions to limit spending, now is the responsible time to end our grand experiment."

Pastry Pants had been located at 10 Park Ave.