Willow Glen, California Since 1992
Cafe Willow Glen
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Dick's Bakery in Willow Glen 
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Baked Goods: Dick's Bakery is famous for its burnt-almond cakes like the marble and chocolate ones shown here. By Staci Jameson For 45 years now, the residents of Willow Glen have been able to depend on the quality they find at Dick's Bakery. From the burnt-almond cakes to the butter rolls, all of the goodies have been handmade and preservative-free from the beginning. Walking into the bakery is an experience not to be missed. The smells of cakes, doughnuts, handmade Danish and baking bread greet your senses. The women who work in the front of the store all have stories to tell about how long they've been there and what some of their favorite items are. Rose Cornaglia has been at Dick's Bakery for 30 years now and can give a history of just about everything made there. Rose's daughter also worked at the bakery for a time. Then there's Tessy, who has worked at the bakery for about 15 years. Tessy assures that there are few things in life better than the baked goods that people stand in line for. Both women say that during the holiday season there is a line around the building of people waiting to buy the warm butter rolls and fresh pumpkin pies. The one thing no one at the bakery will talk about is the recipe used to make the burnt almonds adorning the cakes that sell out almost as quickly as they can be produced. Richard "Dick" Sota, the bakery's namesake, retired about 10 years ago. He purchased a bakery on San Carlos Street in San Jose after returning home from military service in 1946. Not long after that, his brother Clarence Sota joined him at the bakery. They stayed at that location for about 10 years before moving to Willow Glen, an area in which most of their customers lived. Up until about 10 years ago, Dick's Bakery had a full-service fountain offering burgers, fries, fountain sodas and a daily special. Because of the demand for their baked goods, the fountain was closed and extra refrigeration equipment was brought in to store cakes for customers. Clarence Sota says that he never intended baking to be a way of life for him, but he has no plans of retiring any time soon. At the age of 75, he still gets to the bakery every morning at 2:30 a.m. to get his bakery going. Clarence says he has missed about three weeks in his 45 years. "We have a lot of public figures that come into Dick's," says Clarence. "A lot of police and firefighters come here, too." There have been other public figures who have come into the bakery as well, but Clarence feels they have a right to privacy. "A lot of our customers used to be the kids who delivered papers in the morning. Now they're police or in some other business and they still come in," says Clarence. Dick's Bakery does wedding cakes and birthday cakes as well. One piece of new technology at Dick's is the machine that will scan a picture a customer brings in and prints it onto a piece of edible paper that is then placed onto a cake. Rose says, "It adds a personal touch to a store-bought item." Dick's Bakery, located at 1593 Meridian Ave., is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday - Thursday and from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday - Sunday. For more information, call 408-269-5212. |
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