HEALDSBURG – Will Seppi said he recalled the childhood days when “earning allowance” meant clocking in at the family business, Costeaux French Bakery, in Healdsburg. The reminders surround him – workers knead dough by hand as they have for decades, producing dozens of varieties of breads, pastries and desserts for direct sale and distribution.
However, as phones ring continually in the background, Mr. Seppi explained that there were certainly changes since he left the finance industry to manage the bakery seven years ago. For one, the amount of hands – and square feet, products and distribution routes – have grown several fold.
“One of the things that has helped us grow has been a commitment to quality and making things by hand,” he said.
With roots in a French-American bakery that opened nearby in 1923, Costeaux began when Mr. Seppi’s parents purchased the company from its former owner in 1981. A “full-line” bakery, Costeaux remained one of a decreasing number of production bakeries that chose to produce a full line of products, rather than focus on a particular specialty.
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