Mount Pleasant's third oldest business closes
Dina Desormes inspects a decorated cake at Robaire's Bakery Oct. 7, 2021.
After serving Mount Pleasant for 61 years, Robaire’s Bakery has decided to shut down.
The previous owner of Robaire's, Dina Desormes, passed away in April 2022. Desormes’ son Gerard had made the ultimate decision to close the bakery after the staff kept it open for the summer.
“After the passing of our beloved Dina, things were just not the same,” a post from the Robaire Bakery Facebook page said.
According to Desormes' obituary, Desormes was born in France in 1939 during WWII. She was a child when the Nazis occupied her hometown and her family had been hiding two American pilots who had been shot down over their farm. The war provided Desormes with “…resilience … perseverance and the sense of doing right.”
Desormes eventually met her husband, Robaire Desormes, with whom she emigrated to America. In 1944, Desormes became a U.S. citizen and settled in Mount Pleasant, opening Robaire’s Bakery in 1961 — it would become the city's third-oldest business.
After Robaire’s passing in 1993, Desormes continued his baking traditions — waking up at 3:30 a.m., seven days a week to prepare the sweets and pastries.
Although the business officially closed Sept. 4, cake orders are still being accepted via email. Orders can be sent to robairesbakery123@outlook.com.
