Mama's Bakery always has something good in the oven
By Suzanne Cristallo
As the fingers of a beckoning hand, the aromas of baking honey and pineapple bran muffins reach out from Mama's Bakery to tantalize passing joggers. It's that way every morning at the small bakery across from the N. Santa Cruz Avenue Safeway in Los Gatos. Baker Ali Shemirani is not oblivious to the charms of his goods. In fact, he admits, there is a ploy here.
"I pull them in with the smell," he says with a smile, in the abbreviated English he has been speaking since 1977.
While English is his second language, baking is his life. "I never think about my country, never listen to news," he says of Iran, where he was born. Instead, "I think about my bakery and this Los Gatos town I love." He has been baking for 46 years--since he was a boy of 7 in his father's shops, baking bread and cookies with his 18 brothers and sisters, whom custom dictated would be part of their father's profession for life. "It was not healthy in my country," he reflects, noting that only three sisters and five brothers survived.
Shemirani and wife Minoo went first to Los Angeles 23 years ago to bake out of their home for a string of shops. He continued his wholesale baking business after moving to San Jose in 1988, supplying customers from here to San Rafael. It was after taking a job with Safeway in Los Gatos as bakery manager four years ago that he came to know the owners of Mama's Bakery across the street, who eventually wanted to sell. That was 22 months ago, and since then, his customers find his philosophy--as his muffins, cakes and pastries--are a joy to share. "My customers love me and take care of me," he says with affection.
Shemirani's day starts at 2 a.m. with the baking he does for local shops like Kelly's, the Bike Cafe, Dolce Spazio and Double D's. Between 4 and 6 a.m., he delivers their pastries, muffins, scones, cookies and cakes, returning to the shop to begin the baking for his over-the-counter trade. He specializes in products made with kosher ingredients for Orthodox Jewish groups, who on Fridays pick up his challah--a yeast bread rich in eggs--for religious ceremonies.
"Anything in the world you want, I'll fix for you," he says of the variety he bakes. This includes tiramisu, brownies, cheesecake and special wedding and birthday cakes. Using cartoon characters at hand next door at Collector's Corner II, Shemirani can fashion Superman, Pokémon and baseball characters on cakes for children's parties.
In the meantime, Minoo manages breakfast catering for local doctor's and computer offices, wineries and business meetings. She uses skills acquired through hotel and restaurant management courses and 15 years of banquet experience. Her group breakfasts feature pastries, scones, cheesecakes, muffins, fruit, juices and coffee for $12 a person.
While the couple concentrate on their bakery, their three sons--a 21-year-old and 19-year-old twins--relish computers. "They never worked in the bakery. They like high study," Shemirani notes of the technical careers his sons are pursuing.
Between bakery and family, where does his long day end? "I don't worry about sleep," he reflects. "If you work hard, you can live 100 years. It's when you stop that you die."
Mama's Bakery, 473 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m-3 p.m. 408.828.6262.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
