“I always wondered what Tasso’s was when I drove by and
when it changed over to First Street I saw all they did to the
outside,” Kevin said, adding, “I thought it had potential.”
In March, Josephine’s opened its second location
at 383 First Street expecting a slow opening like they
experienced at the Morgan Hill location.
“They put our feet to the fire,” Kari said.
“All the staff was new and the computer system was new
and the menus are new and everyone was still learning to
work everything,” she said.
“We didn’t get the opportunity to test everything. We
didn’t advertise or anything. Our first customer came in at
7:15 on the day that we opened—we had opened at 7:00 am.
She blasted it all over her social media. So, by Saturday, we
were just packed.”
Kari and her family appreciate the warm welcome they’ve
received from the community.
“They’ve shown it by coming in and clearing out our
bakery case,” Kari said, adding, “The baked goods are going
very well, the cupcakes, the cheesecakes.”
The Gilroy location offers patrons new additions to the
Josephine’s menu—hamburgers and french fries are two of
those additions. Hash browns and pancakes are also featured
on the Gilroy menu.
P
“When we started we wanted to just add a few new
things, more of a variety” Kevin said.
What customers will find at both locations are Josephine’s
specialty sandwiches.
“My mom makes jam and we use the jalapeno jam
on a sandwich called the Red-Hot Momma,” Kevin said,
adding, “that same jam is also featured in The Granny,
which features green apples, the jalapeno jam of course, and
brie cheese.”
Mini cupcakes are a big hit at the bakery and although
the variety of flavors available changes from day to day,
customers can count on the lemon raspberry, chocolate
raspberry, and chocolate peanut butter, to always
be available.
Josephine’s is happy to accommodate any and all custom
cake orders for six-inch cakes and up. Wedding cakes are
also available. Another new addition to the Gilroy location is
a part-time wedding planner in hopes of growing that aspect
of the business.
The owners couldn’t be more pleased with the new
location and the reception they’ve received.
“We’re very appreciative of the support that we’ve already
received and we’re learning more and more about Gilroy
every day,” Kevin said.
Patti's Perfect Pantry
atti Tartaglia, owner of Patti’s Perfect Pantry
located at 435 Vineyard Town Center in
Morgan Hill, offers her clientele quite a unique twist from
traditional bakeries. Patti’s is a dedicated gluten-free bakery.
“We cannot bake with anything that contains wheat,
barley or rye, or any derivatives of those products. Those are
the things that contain gluten,” Tartaglia said, adding that
first they bake and then freeze the products.
The restriction of gluten doesn’t deter Patti’s from offering
a wide assortment of delicious cupcakes, cookies, brownies,
cinnamon rolls, and even pizza to her customers.
“I try and look at the things that when people go gluten-
free they miss the most,” she said.
The inspiration to create a gluten-free bakery came when
Tartaglia, due to health issues, switched to a gluten-free diet.
“It made a total change in my life,” she said.
In 2008, instead of continuing in the pharmaceutical
industry, where she’d previously worked for 11 years,
Tartaglia went back to school. She earned a Holistic
Nutritional Educator certificate from Bauman College, which
specializes in holistic culinary arts and nutrition.
With certificate in hand she began working as a
nutritional consultant in addition to her job at the People
and Planet store, where she first offered her gluten-free
recipes to the store’s clientele.
The rave reviews she received and her boss’s
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
encouragement motivated Tartaglia to open the Gilroy
bakery in 2013. Two years later when the lease expired
she relocated to Morgan Hill.
Tartaglia’s combined passion for food and medicine
were the initial reasons behind opening the bakery.
Although she admits at times it gets a little crazy owning
her own business, the
connection with her
clientele motivates her
to keep going.
“I absolutely love
my customers. I have
the most wonderful
customers in the
world,” Tartaglia said.
“People come in
every day and thank
me for being here.
People come in with
food issues and we
understand everything
they’re going through,”
Tartaglia said, adding,
“It’s just been wonder-
ful. It’s very rewarding
in that sense.”
JUNE/JULY 2018
gmhtoday.com
27