Freed’s Bakery consolidates operations

Freed's Bakery has merged its operations into one facility at 9815 S. Eastern Ave., at Silverado Ranch Boulevard.

The bakery is about an eighth of a mile from its former location at Eastern and Richmar avenues. The other bakery, at Eastern and Tropicana avenues, was in operation for 30 years.

Owner Joni Fried said the move was in part the product of changing times.

"The location at Trop and Eastern has been really good to us over the years," she said, but demographics in the area have changed, with many regular customers moving away, or simply getting older and passing on. That location became inconvenient for many current customers.

The new bakery, noted general manager Max Jacobson-Fried, is close to I-215, which makes it easily accessible from most of the valley.

The new location also opens two hours earlier, operating from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

"We will go back to doing some of the breakfast things we were doing before, like danish pastries and muffins," she said. Jacobson-Fried said those will include some distinctive Freed's specialties, such as cherry-pecan coffeecakes, chocolate coffeecakes and babkas. And they will serve coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Fried said the decision was a hard one.

"Over the years, not only myself, but a lot of the employees who still work for us all kind of grew up in the business together," she said. "There are so many sweet memories. I can see my dad out there talking to everybody and humming, and my mom. She was always pitching in and putting cookies out and getting things straightened up. At 84, she was still making gift baskets in the back. The bakery meant the world to them."

She said Lori Giuliano, who has worked for Freed's for 33 years, is quality-control manager at the new location.

The phone number, 456-7762, and website, www.FreedsBakery.com, remain the same. Fried said they post to their Facebook page a couple of times a week, and that that's a good place to find out about news including giveaways, promotions and the grand opening.

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@review journal.com or 702-383-0474.