Under new ownership, La Cañada’s Cakery Bakery will soon rise again
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Maybe it’s the good fortune of finding like-minded people or maybe it’s just the power of a good leavening agent — whatever the reason, La Cañada’s Cakery Bakery will soon rise again.
The small storefront at 1119 Foothill Blvd. became vacant in December after longtime owners Ray and Zora Yasseri hung up their aprons after 25 years of creating custom cakes and pastries for a flock of devoted customers.
For Cakery Bakery owners Zora and Ray Yasseri, the decision to close up the La Cañada shop is a bittersweet one that had more to do with logistics than anything else.
The property owner wasn’t keen on extending the Yasseri’s lease to new owners but had a change of heart after friends and bakers Angine Nazari and Marjan Fadaei expressed an interest in taking over.
“I called them and asked if they were interested in selling the business, and they said yes,” explained Nazari, a Granada Hills surgical tech who for years made high-end cakes on the side. “It had been in business for 25 years — we didn’t want to lose the customers.”
Keeping the Cakery Bakery name and website, and using some of the previous owners’ recipes along with some of their own, the new owners will welcome visitors to the store in a grand opening Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Nazari said offerings will include cakes and sweet breads as well as some Persian and Armenian pastries that reflect the heritage of the new owners and best friends.
But visitors are likely to find some familiar items too, as former owner Zora Yasseri has been making frequent visits to teach what she’s learned to the newcomers.
“They’re teaching us everything because it’s a business continuation,” said Fadaei, a Woodland Hills accountant and tax preparer who always had a passion for pastry making. “You have to learn everything because you bought the business.”
During a recent visit to the still unopened Cakery Bakery on Tuesday, Zora Yasseri and Fadaei were busy making scones. Yasseri carefully weighed each dough ball as Fadaei pulled and cut portions from a giant sticky glob.
“I’m feeling confident,” Fadaei said during the lesson. “But she’s experienced so much here, I want to know some key things.”
The retired baker shared some tips with the new owners, advising they make scones in small batches to ensure the supply behind the counter is fresh. She and her husband also shared their list of suppliers with the new partners.
“I couldn’t be any happier,” Zora Yasseri said of the transition. “This will breathe a new life into the business, which is great. We didn’t have any energy left, and they are full of new energy — it’s fantastic.”
The Yasseris have kept busy since they closed shop three months ago. They’re both taking computer classes, and Zora Yasseri is learning German. But come Sunday, they’ll both return to La Cañada Flintridge to celebrate the next chapter of Cakery Bakery’s history.
“Oh, yeah,” Zora Yasseri said. “I’ll be here.”
