bake - May/June 2020 - 86

E

ngulfed in the most severe
pandemic in recent American
history, panaderías are responding
with determination and innovative spirit
to bring comfort and joy to their local
customers across the land. This remains a
hectic time, but not one without budding
optimism. For it is the authentic tastes of
breads and sweet goods native to Latin
America that evoke comforting feelings of
better days ahead. Bread is hope. There is
a certainty and promise to the flavors that
remind people of tradition and love.
For Amelia Vaca Santoyo at Carnitas
Uruapan in Lamont, Calif., the bakery of her
parents, this small agricultural city in central
California welcomes hundreds of customers
every day who enjoy the bakery's authentic
bolillos and tortillas, staples in most Latino
homes. This peaceful city of 15,000 people
happens to be 95% Hispanic, one of the
highest percentages in the country.
"Most of our customers are Latinos. Since
agricultural jobs were considered essential,
most people are continuing to work through
the pandemic," Santoyo explains. "The demand
for groceries and bread skyrocketed. We could
not keep up with demand and would sell out
early every day."
Likewise, in Fontana, Calif., 150 miles
to the south, Maria and Heliodoro Casillas,
owners of Maria's Panaderia, explain that the
COVID-19 pandemic "has impacted many
businesses in Fontana, but not our bakery. In
fact, we had an increase of our sales by 20%
ever since the pandemic started."
At Carnitas Uruapan, Santoyo explains that
COVID-19 has impacted her county in a
large way.
"We are just under 3,000 confirmed cases
with 65% of those being Latinos," she explains.
"We had to make immediate changes in order
to best keep our employees and our customers
safe. We are frequently sanitizing surfaces and
provided our employees with masks. We
installed plexiglass shields throughout the
store. We also put social distancing markers

on the floor to guide our customers. We also
limit the amounts of customers in the store
at one time."
This family business hired more employees
in order to keep up with the demand. They
rewarded the efforts of employees with an
"appreciation bonus" for all that they do and
continue to do in these unprecedented times.
In addition, the business stays up to date ob
the guidelines and recommendations made
by public health officials.
"Lamont is a resilient community, and I'd
like to think that our panadería is a positive
contributor to that," Santoyo explains. "I
would hope to see the community continue
to work together to overcome obstacles.
We are looking into possibly expanding the
panadería, so next year we look forward to
growth and the possibility of serving our
customers with more of the bread they love

and possibly some new items as well."
At Maria's Panaderia, which operates two
locations in Fontana, the bakery was forced
to change the way they operate because of the
pandemic. Following guidelines for the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
the bakery adapted to new rules by spacing
all customers accordingly and protecting the
employees with masks and gloves, as well as
constant cleaning. But the crisis did not force
change in their production.
"We have always worked hard to produce
bread of high quality using the best ingredients
and with the current health crisis there's no
reason to do anything different," Maria Casillas
explains. "I thank God that our customers like
our products and that we didn't lose any of
our business. What I see is that once we get
out of this situation (COVID-19), we will do
even better." .

JUNE 20

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6/30/2020 8:15:51 AM
bake - May/June 2020

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