Semifreddi's Bakery is an

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...

-based

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

that serves the entire

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

.Girard, Kim.''The Future of Food''. BerkeleyHaas Magazine, 2012.Fietelberg, Jerilyn. ''Rolling in Dough at Semifreddi’s''. Piedmonter, 1996.Johnson, Elain. ''The Bread Rush''. Sunset Magazine, 1994. The name Semifreddi means "half-frozen" in Italian.

Beginnings and early history

In 1984, Eric and Carole Sartenaer, ex-

Cheese Board Collective The Cheese Board Collective in Berkeley, California, comprises two worker-owned-and-operated businesses: a cheese shop/bakery commonly referred to as "The Cheese Board" and a pizzeria known as "Cheese Board Pizza". Along with Peet's Coffee, the ...

members, opened shop in a 450-square-foot "hole in the wall" bakery in

Kensington, California Kensington is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census designated place located in the Berkeley Hills, in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Contra Costa County, Californi ...

. In January 1987, Barbara Frainier (one of their first employees) took over the business with her husband Michael Rose. In 1988, Tom Frainier (Barbara’s brother) joined the Semifreddi's team. In order to save money, Tom, Barbara, and Michael, lived together in a small flat in Berkeley, California.Mitchell, Eve. ''Former Clorox manager now supplies bread to Bay Area''. Bay Area News Group, June 24, 2012. Tom, who holds an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from Berkeley’s

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business (branded as Berkeley Haas) is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a Public university, public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a pub ...

, left an upper management position at

Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2024, the Oakland, California-based company had approximately 8,000 employees worldwide. N ...

to join his sister and brother in law, both UC Berkeley alumni, in the bread and pastry-making business.McEver, Katherine. ''Bread Circuses''. The East Bay Monthly, 1993, Vol. 24, p. 18.Kilduff, Paul. ''The Fresh CEO''. The East Bay Monthly, 2012, Vol. 42, p. 22. When asked about his

exit strategy An exit strategy is a means of leaving one's current situation, either after a predetermined objective has been achieved, or as a strategy to mitigate failure. An organisation or individual without an exit strategy may be in a quagmire. At wors ...

, Frainier replies, "death". After Frainier took the helm as President, CEO, and self-proclaimed, "Chief Boot Licker", Semifreddi's rapidly expanded throughout the San Francisco Bay, while maintaining its emphasis on baking high-quality, European-style

artisan bread The hearth bread (also known as rustic bread, artisan bread, sometimes "French bread") is a "freestanding" (made without a bread pan) loaf baked at high temperature (up to 500 °F, frequently using steam) that is both crusty and chewy. The hig ...

and pastries.

Present day

Sold in 2024 Semifreddi's has become one of the largest artisan wholesale bread and pastry bakeries in the Bay Area. It is located in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

.Our Story
''Semifreddi's''. Semifreddi’s and

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ἀκμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts, entertainment and games * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fic ...

are the two major players in the San Francisco Bay bread industry. In 2009, Semifreddi’s moved into a 33,000 square foot facility, where the bakery recycles 95 percent of its waste. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for all 52 weeks of the year. The bakery utilizes over 25 different recipes and bakes more than 50 different

s and pastries. In a typical week, Semifreddi's bakes and delivers over 200,000 baguettes, rolls, and loaves and 40,000 pastries and cookies a week. Semifreddi's sells to grocery stores, restaurants, and cafés throughout the bay area.

Baked goods

Semifreddi's bakes French and Italian style bread and pastries, which includes baguettes, loaves, batards, and French style pastries. They also bake croutons, cookies, and various seasonal sweets.Products
''Semifreddi's''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semifreddi's Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Alameda, California 1984 establishments in California American companies established in 1984 Bakeries of California