A pair of Ben Lomond restaurateurs are preparing to open a new bakery in the same building that recently housed Lacey Days Antiques, and a happening music venue in the 1970s.
Raffaele Cristallo and Mario Ibarra — both owners of the popular Casa Nostra — are expecting to open The Ben Lomond Baking Company in new digs, conveniently across the street from their current culinary venture on Saturday, May 9.
“We are going to be baking in both places because we have a professional kitchen in Casa Nostra, and we have a kitchen here, but it is mostly for preparation,” said Cristallo. “We are going to be decorating cakes and stuff around here.”
Construction of the bakery is currently underway, with the installation of a new counter, espresso machine, bakery display cases, an oven, and gelato machine, as well as some needed electrical work.
“We are going to have a pretty big menu,” said Tessie Murphy, future head baker and production manager. “(We will have) something for everybody — at least for opening — and then we are going to expand after that, and change and listen to what people want.”
The bakery will sell savory items from Casa Nostra, gelato, espresso, and coffee drinks, as well as small Italian pastries that Cristallo calls “pasticcini” — which come with fillings like pastry cream, espresso, and coconut. There will also be homemade calzones.
“They are actually called ‘panzerotti’ — it’s a little different from a regular calzone because it is a deep-fried calzone and they have ham and cheese and the tomato sauce. Kind of like a mini pizza,” Cristallo said. “It comes from my area in south Italy — Puglia is the region.”
The menu will provide a variety of muffins, croissants, cookies, and biscotti, Murphy said.
“I would call it a blend, we are not sticking to a really strict pasticceria menu,” she said. “We are doing a blend of what people around here are going to like.”
There will be lots of Italian classics and some things that are going to be new for Ben Lomond appetites, Murphy explained, but also a lot of things that most everyone would expect in a bakery.
“There is going to be some stuffed focaccias, they are baked already with the stuff in there…” Cristallo said. “So you can drive and nothing falls out and you can eat at the same time.”
The bakery will serve hot items like lasagna, panzerotti, and focaccia that will be available for lunch and dinner — “things that are practical and waiting for you hot,” he said.
“I’ve got a couple things that I am really, really excited about and we are just going to have to see what people respond to, what people like that most, and we are just going to run with that,” Murphy said. “We’ve got a lot of nut things, fruit things, chocolate things, we’ve got gluten-free options, vegan options, sugar-free options, we are going to be doing cakes, pastries, and cookies.”
Both Cristallo and Murphy said that the bakery would be open at 5:30 a.m. every morning and close at 7 or 8 p.m, depending on when guests stop trickling in for dinner.
“We are going to play with the commute because we really want to be able to offer fresh-baked bread for people on their commutes home, they can stop and get a box of pastries for dessert and a loaf of bread for dinner,” Murphy said.
The bakery, Cristallo said, will be perfect for the San Lorenzo Valley because it will provide beautiful and delicate cakes and pastries for any occasion.
“I have three kids, and every time I go to Santa Cruz to get a Birthday cake, no more, we (are) going to have (a bakery) right here in Ben Lomond,” Cristallo said, “we are going to have Tessie make some really good stuff.”
