White’s Bakery closing its doors after many years at Derby Street Shops: ‘It was the right decision for us’

August 3, 2021 by Carol Britton Meyer

White's Bakery at the Derby Street Shops -- perhaps best known for its delicious custom-decorated birthday and other specialty cakes -- announced recently that the last day of business will be Aug. 21.

"This was an incredibly hard decision to make, but it was the right one for us," a post on the White's website states. The owners also express appreciation for the shop's loyal customers and staff.

After moving to Massachusetts with his family, David White opened White's Pastry Shop in 1987 in Easton, Mass., featuring fresh-baked muffins, cookies, bread, and cakes. The shop was relocated to Brockton two years later.

White's second shop opened on Derby Street in Hingham in 1997 in the former shopping plaza that was located there at that time and is the oldest existing tenant still operating at the Derby Street Shops.  Additional White's bakeries were opened in Braintree and Canton in the early 2000s but were later sold. The Mansfield shop opened in March 2014.

"It's nice that a small family business like ours could be maintained in a shopping center with big-name stores," White's son, Brian, told the Hingham Anchor. "We will absolutely miss our Hingham customers. It was obviously a difficult decision, but we decided to step back and work on [the]  products [we offer]." Over the years, the entire White family has been involved in the business one way or another, he said.

Brian went on to explain, "We're not closing our Hingham location because of the pandemic, or a staff shortage, or because we're doing poorly. It was a family decision."

Among other customer favorites are whoppie pies, checkerboard cakes, and half-moon cookies. The specialty cakes are especially popular because they can be personalized with a written name/message and are typically decorated with frosting flowers or balloons or with seasonal or novelty designs.

The White's Brockton and Mansfield locations will remain open.