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Billy Bread baker takes over Westhampton Pastry Shop

Posted at 8:46 AM, Sep 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-06 08:46:53-04

RICHMOND, Va. — The taste still lingers for George Oley.

A native Richmonder, the 63-year-old dentist recalled fond memories of Westhampton Pastry Shop’s famed brownies – covered in sugar and smothered in about half an inch of chocolate icing and prepared daily at the bakery on at 5728 Patterson Ave.

“They are perfect,” Oley said. “There were days I would walk in and simply order a brownie…just biting into that brownie, it was as if the recipe hadn’t changed since I was a kid.”

So when George’s brother, Mark, a pharmacist and owner of nearby Westwood Pharmacy, learned earlier this summer of Guy “Boots” Rogers III’s plans to retire and sell the 60-year-old pastry shop, the pair didn’t waste any time.

“We jumped on it,” George Oley said. “We made them an offer that night.”

The undisclosed price was sweet enough for Rogers, and the Oley brothers held the keys to the Westhampton Pastry Shop about 30 days ago.

Barry Krauss, senior vice president at Chesterfield-based Capital Business Brokers, a subsidiary of Transact Capital Partners, represented the seller during the transaction. Steve Moore, vice president of Capital Business Brokers, represented the Oley family.

All the shop’s employees, about 20 people, were retained, George Oley said.

While Guy Rogers has officially retired from the operation, George Oley said Guy’s wife, Diana, is staying on for a couple months to help manage some of the bookkeeping and complete wedding cake orders.

George and Mark Oley will oversee the finances of the bakery. Their cousin and business partner, Billy Fallen, will manage day-to-day operations at the shop.

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