“The first time I saw a sign with the word ‘Bakery’ on it, I thought it was a typo,” said Melao Bakery owner David Cervantes.
“I was just shocked that the word was spelled out like that.
But it was.
It’s a sign that says, ‘We make delicious baked goods.’
I’m just happy for our community.”
Cervants first bakery, which opened in 2009 in downtown Oakland, has been an instant hit.
Since opening, the shop has opened at least twice a week to sell its bread, and more recently opened at the University of California campus in Berkeley, where it opened in 2014.
“I think the first bakery I opened was in 2009,” Cervas said.
“When we opened, we had to be in the back of a van.
The people were there and they loved it.
And that’s why we were able to keep doing it, and keep making it.
We were always in the market.”
The bakery opened to a crowd that included Berkeley students, as well as students from Oakland schools.
The business has become a staple for Melao, and Cervantas is working on a sequel.
Cervantes also serves as executive director of the nonprofit organization Oakland Bakery Project, which has been trying to increase the visibility of the bakery.
The nonprofit has also begun selling its bread in restaurants around the city.
Melao Bakry also has partnered with other bakeries in Oakland, including Melao Market in Oakland and the bakery at the new Berkeley City Hall in Berkeley.
On Thursday, Cervante said the company has partnered again with the Oakland Bakary Project to sell all of its bread at the Oakland Market, a popular tourist destination in the city’s West Oakland neighborhood.
As for the future, Cervellantes is optimistic.
He said Meloa Bakery’s expansion will bring more business to the city, which is also looking for a new baker to start up.
In the meantime, he said he is working to get more people involved in his business.
Read more about Melao and the Oakland neighborhood here: Meloa Bakary opened in Oakland in 2014, but opened a second location in Berkeley in 2018.
The bakery is now open three days a week in downtown Berkeley.
