The October opening of Panapolis Bakery No. 4 in San Jose was perfunctory. Owner Aldo Ortiz had a photo taken with his family under a balloon arch, then thanked the crowd for its patience and cut the ceremonial red ribbon.
There was no time for the scheduled remarks from District 2 Councilmember Pamela Campos or Consul General of México Neftali Said Pérez González — customers had started forming a line an hour earlier, and it already stretched a block and a half.
“I am thinking it’s going to be as great as the others,” resident Sal Jones told San José Spotlight as he waited in line. “I’ll go in there, see something and think, ‘Yeah, my stomach’s talking to me. My eyes are telling me to go for that.’ I’ll worry about the diet later.”
Within 90 minutes, the cases were empty. It was another milestone in a career that began almost by chance…