The popular Federico’s Italian Bakery on the corner of South Allen Avenue and East Colorado Boulevard is closing its doors in May.
In a short email statement, owner Farshad Rastegar told Pasadena Now Friday, “We are closing that location after 62 years. The rent doubled over the last 5 years and was raised 45% as of January. Not sustainable. No retail space in mind yet. May focus solely on wholesale.”
The bakery, near Pasadena City College, was popular with students and local residents and enjoyed a large following on social media.
Pasadena resident Kim L. posted on Yelp recently, “This is my favorite bakery to stop in and buy my fave Italian cookies!!! Mariana is always so friendly and helpful!!! Great neighborhood bakery.”
The 1,865 square-foot bakery first opened in 1960 and is one of two bakery locations owned by Rastegar, the other of which is a bakery factory and retail space in Duarte.
The Pasadena property, at 1810 E. Colorado Blvd., has been listed for lease by Corey Stanaway at Fertig-Gordon Co. Inc. since October 2021.
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12 thoughts on “Federico’s Italian Bakery to Shutter Doors in May”
Greedy landlords ruin small town atmosphere in hopes of a major franchise to come in. How many more generic franchises do we need? Say goodbye to ambiance and Pasadena’s unique personality.
Totally agree with Lisa, Pasadena is really losing its long-time unique identity
Very sad that the powers-that-be in Pasadena have let happen to this once wonderful City.
Oh no. I’m so sorry to see this. What a travesty.
The cost of renting commercial space in Pasadena is outrageous. Soon all the retail stores that will be located in Pasadena will be chain stores. Soon all the privately owned bookstores, clothing stores, restaurants, household goods stores that made Pasadena a charming city will be gone. Doesn’t the city see the destruction of character that’s befalling our city? What about the ever-increasing number of high rise apartment/office buildings has cache? What could be done to shield small privately owned businesses from the every-increasing cost of rent? What is enough for landlords? What is affecting them that they’re pricing private small businesses out of the city? Are their financial burdens so great that they have “no choice?” Pasadena used to be a charming, sophisticated but friendly small city. Now it’s almost all the way there joining LA suburban sprawl, the only differentiation being the city limits signs.
Totally agree with previous comments. Pasadena is not what it use to be. And I don’t like the direction it’s heading. I’ve lived my life here and we are loosing our charm and personal identity. Even sunlight is disappearing from Walnut under the multitude of high-rise. I will miss Federico’s. We serve princess cake at every birthday. Pasadena, “wake up before it’s too late.”
I agree with all your comments .All these small businesses strive to be successful and struggling and barely to stay in business right now.These businesses who establish themselves to be in Pasadena is what makes the city unique to visit or shop or simply enjoy the time being there.Hope can do something these businesses there before all of them are gone.
Interesting that the only comments PasadenaNow seems to post are those that praise Federico’s. A comment I posted a day ago has not appeared. Was it because I noted how drastically Federico’s quality had gone down in the past few years? The raise in rent was certainly overkill, but the business itself would not have survived much longer anyway, IMO.
I have been a customer at Federico’s since the mid-1990s. When I recently ordered a cake the options were limited. Not that many fillings. Decorations were limited. I ordered anyway and I received the most horrible cake I have ever had. I drove out to Santa Monica to Sweet Lady Jane and while the cake cost twice as much I had it same day and it was FAR, FAR better. When I complained to Federico’s they didn’t care. They get what’s coming to them. This isn’t as much about rent as it is a business that stopped putting in the effort to compete. Federico’s is a shell of itself. I doubt it could stay in business if the rent stayed the same. I was usually the only customer in the place.
Live in Alhambra but when I’m around it Pasadena I visit quite often. Karmas going to bite the landlord in the butt. Twoheys essentially got kicked out due to rent increase and guess what that lot is still for lease
Pasadena has been on a slow decline for decades, but the speed of it has picked up over the recent years. Nothing’s going to stop it. The Rose Parade has done a very good job in promoting Pasadena as a great place to live. Now the cost of everything here is up.
I’ll alway have memories of how nice this place was and reminisce. Things are going to change, mostly to line the pockets of the upper 2%
It’s not surprising but it is not because if the rent increase.. Their service and products have gone downhill over the last few years. I’ve gotten my birthday cake here since I was 10 years old. We stop going there. The employees are rude. Their cakes are not as good as they use to be. They mess up orders. It’s just not the same as it use to be. Too bad they were an iconic business in the area. Just goes to show, bad service, bad products and you can’t survive.