Overview
- The bakery, which closed on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, ended a half-century run in Berkeley’s Elmwood neighborhood after its owners announced the permanent shutdown.
- Co-owners Sabra Stepak and Julia Elliott point to sustained economic pressures including steep increases in ingredient and utility bills, high employee turnover, and intense local competition as core reasons for closing.
- The owners reported that a removal from Instagram after reposting an image tied to an anti-ICE message preceded a roughly 20 percent drop in sales and that local pushback over political displays further depressed business.
- Final-weekend demand surged with long lines and sellouts, but the owners said the rush did not change their decision and that they are open to selling the bakery to someone who could continue it.
- Nabolom began in 1976 as a worker collective, closed in 2015, was revived under private ownership in 2016, and its closure highlights broader strains on low-margin Bay Area food businesses from rising costs and tight labor markets.