L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 18 Frank's Bakery: Serving the upper crust of Italian bread since 1948 The trifecta of a good, tradi- tional Italian meal is good wine, good pasta and, of course, good bread. What's a good bowl of pasta without that slice of garlic bread to go with it? Bruschetta would not be the antipasto we all know and love without the sliced baguette, toasted to per- fection and rubbed with garlic for extra flavor. Many times, a platter of cold cuts, cheeses and bread with a good glass of wine could be considered a perfect meal in and of itself. Yes, we Italians know and love our bread. In San Diego's Little Italy, Gibaldi's Italian Bread - origi- nally known as Frank's Bakery - has been perfecting the tradi- tional Italian bread since it opened its doors in 1948. This family business is now run by its third generation with Tommy Gibaldi Sr. as the over- seeing patriarch of the business. Now in his 60s, Gibaldi has turned the reins over to his sons, Tom and Frank, while he enjoys a more relaxed, laid-back role in the family business. Gibaldi's parents emigrated to the United States from Italy, first to Wisconsin and then, in 1938, to San Diego, where the first family bakery was opened at the corner of Juniper and India in Little Italy. Back then it was called the New York Baking Company and it was run by Gibaldi's parents up until the war broke out. Gibaldi's father traded in bread for liquor and opened a few bars in the San Diego area during the war, but his heart eventually lead him back to the bakery and Frank's Bakery was established in Hillcrest in 1948 and that, as they say, is history. "Basically it's just a simple lit- tle family business that we've kept together for that many years," Gibaldi said. "We haven't grown big, big, big. We support the family and pay the bills and enjoy it." After 42 years, over a Memorial Day weekend, a fire broke out and destroyed the original Hillcrest location. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the damage was too exten- sive to reopen, so, Gibaldi said, "we moved down here, found this location [and] we've been here now more than 25 years." "Here" is 3555 India Street, along the corridor that runs par- allel to the Interstate 5. Gibaldi's remains to this day a family business: "[My] two sons who I think they've been in it for the last - since we moved here - for 25 years. And of course, my wife - we've been married how many years now, 42 years, she's been involved in it. She handles the books, pays the bills, then she comes here and packs bread on some days and she makes cannoli shells. So she's really involved in it. Now we're in the third generation. My mother passed away last year at 98. She was here till she was eighty- something and my wife took over for her," Gibaldi said. Gibaldi's caters to a number of restaurants in Little Italy as well as locations throughout the San Diego county. Since they opened their doors at their current loca- tion, they also welcome and enjoy the occasional walk-in customer who would like to pur- chase a dozen dinner rolls or a loaf or two of bread. One of the secrets to the bak- ery's long-standing success, Gibaldi says, is maintaining and nurturing those personal rela- tionships with his customers. "We made a lot of friends down here and we sure appreci- ate these people, to tell you the truth," he said. "I have all great customers. I respect them all because they're such great peo- ple. I think, with me, it's being involved personally with the customers. I think it's a lot of respect that I have for them and maybe they have for me." Gibaldi's doors are open six days a week: Monday - Friday, noon to 8 p.m. and Sundays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. More information on their location, hours and menu is available at their website: www.franksbak- erysandiego.com MIchElE PluSS Tom Gibaldi Sr. Gibaldi's Italian Bread opened its doors to the public on India Street 25 years ago

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