There will be no more lemon cake at Embassy. No more scones. No more croissants. At least temporarily. The historic Madrid bakery, founded in 1931, has closed all its stores without prior notice. The six remaining establishments in the city have closed.
According to El Mundo, the company attributes the closure to liquidity problems. In a statement published by the newspaper, they state that “the rise in raw material and energy costs, the increase in labor costs and the difficulties in accessing financing, together with the non-recovery of sales prior to the pandemic”, have led the company to initiate a process of negotiations under the Bankruptcy Law.
However, the background to the situation is more complicated: a labor dispute with employees who have sued the company for the delay in the payment of wages.
A closure that is not new
The definitive goodbye to Embassy is not new. In 2017, the mythical tea room on Paseo de la Castellana already closed its doors. That place, once a refuge for spies and diplomats in the middle of World War II, was transformed into a restaurant of the successful -adjective not applicable for the Madrid case- Robuchon group. It didn’t take off either: Robuchon also closed recently.
Despite the 2017 blow, Embassy continued to operate in Aravaca, Chamartín, La Moraleja and in the neighborhoods of Goya, O’Donnell and Santa Engracia. Its shop windows were still full of cakes, chocolates and various delicacies. The classic concept of luxury snacks and breakfasts, with a linen tablecloth and English porcelain, still worked. Until now.
Other bakeries in Madrid
Despite closures such as Embassy, Madrid’s pastry scene is experiencing a sort of golden age. The offer includes centenarian pastry shops such as La Mallorquina or El Riojano and innovative proposals Monroebakes, which bet on creativity and specialization. Here coexist historic bakeries like La Pajarita, author’s bakeries like Moulin Chocolat and internationally inspired corners like Umiko Bake. Some of our favorites are listed in this article.