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The Colombo Baking Company was founded in Oakland in 1896, and known for its sourdough bread.

It was founded by Peter Ravazza and [ possibly G.B. Ratto? ]. 2

From at least 1917 to c.1935, it was at 1500 Cypress Street

1912 Sanborn excerpt1932 ad

c.1937-1966 it was at 461 - 59th Street at Canning.

1950 Sanborn excerpt1942 ad

In 1966, Colombo got a grant to build a new plant at 580 Julie Ann Way near the Oakland Coliseum. 3

1966 4

The company acquired competitor Toscana Sourdough Bread in 1971, and Baroni in 1972.  In 1982, they acquired Parisian Bakeries of San Francisco. 5 Then in 1984, the company became part of the San Francisco French Bread Company. That in turn became a subsidiary of Hostess Brands, Inc. in 1994, and Colombo shuttered operations in 2012. 1,6

The Colombo brand was acquired by Bimbo Bakeries USA in August 2014. 1

Links and References

  1. Colombo Baking Company on Wikipedia
  2. Jack Ravazza Obituary Oakland Tribune March 6, 2002
  3. Federal Dough to Bake Bay Bread Oakland Tribune April 16, 1966
  4. Colombo To Build New Plant Oakland Tribune June 15, 1966
  5. Colombo buys Parisian in a no-dough deal Oakland Tribune September 2, 1982
  6. 145 workers affected by Hostess nationwide plant closures Oakland Tribune November 16, 2012
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