Peters' Bakery 1.35

Peters Bakery is a San Jose institution. The founder, Tony Peters, was born into a poor Portuguese family in San Jose in 1907. When he started grammar school, he couldn't speak English. During the Depression, Mr. Peters worked for Studebaker during the week, then spent the weekends in San Francisco with his Uncle who owned a bakery there. He learned the business at his uncle's store on Saturdays.

On April 15th, 1936, he opened Peters' Bakery at Delmas and San Carlos Streets. Two years later, he opened a second bakery, on Alum Rock Avenue just east of White Road.

He sold the downtown shop in 1947 to one of his apprentices, Richard Sota, which became Dicks Bakery. His abiding interest was his bakery. For decades, he arrived in the middle of the night to begin the days baking. He always used the best quality ingredients it was something he had to do to fulfill his philosophy. That philosophy was, "If you don't want to eat it yourself, don't sell it."

Over the years, Tony Peters trained more than 100 bakers many of whom went on to establish their own bakeries. He had a phenomenal retention rate for employees, all of whom called him simply Boss.

Tony Peters has since passed on but his San Jose legacy remains. Peters Bakery, now owned and operated by two of Tony's children, is the oldest family owned bakery in the Silicon Valley.