The Bear Claw Bakery in Pinole ~ What's up?
I have always enjoyed their cakes. My favorites are the Strawberry and Cream (white cake with fresh strawberries and fresh whipped cream) and the Strawberry Royale (White or chocolate cake, fresh strawberries, fresh whipped cream and melted Guittard chocolate on top). I usually order them for office occasions ~ birthdays, employment milestones, etc. I always thought their prices were very reasonable, $54-$58 for a half sheet of one of the cakes I mentioned above.
I drove by this afternoon about 2pm, intending to place an order and found their doors are locked. There is some sort of notice taped to the window which basically said that effective September 1st they are no longer open for walk-in business, but that they are still taking calls.
I drove back to my office to ring them up but there was no answer. If they have an answering machine it is either full or malfunctioning. The last time I called and spoke with them was early August to get pricing on their cakes. At the time, I mentioned that I would be placing an order about mid-September, but they gave no indication that there would be any change in the business.
Does anyone know what is going on with them? If it turns out that they are no longer operating, I can really use some recommendations for a strawberries 'n' cream cake for an event this coming Sunday!
By AntarcticWidow
on Sep 15, 2008 03:06 PM
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Damn. Last time I was there was when TJ opened and was a little concerned about the nearby Peet's siphoning off some of their business.
I'm not really clear about where you are exactly located, just somewhere in my general area. While I haven't tried the strawberries and cream cake (or know if there are any) , some places near me that I'd call based on other items, in order of preferance
- Le Gateau Elegant, Martinez
- Casandra's, Richmond
- Suzy's, San Pablo ... just opened, but they have both Mexican and European cakes ... and according to my S/O, Salvadoran
- Maria's El Sobrante
Otherwise, then we are looking at Berkeley / Oakland.
Damn, damn, damn, damn ... I really liked the donuts at Bear Claw ... and the pumpkin pie.
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I feel as you do. They had some yummy stuff there and everyone was always friendly. Mike, who is one of the owners, did all of the cake baking.
Thank you for the bakery suggestions. Martinez is the opposite direction of where I need to be. The event I am doing is in (East?) Oakland off of Park Blvd. I think the easiest for me would be a location that I can pick up from on the way to the event. I am not familiar with the bakeries in Oakland or Berkeley, but would appreciate any suggestions. I will continue to research the boards for recommendations in Oakland and Berkeley. If you know of something tried and true, I'd love to know.
As I said before, I will try and give them a call in the morning. It might be that they are not there past a certain time, so I am still hopeful. One thing I liked is that I only needed to give them a day or two notice on an order.
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Neldam's (if they're still there) is on the way to Park Blvd - about 3 exits before Park.
La Farine has a location on Fruitvale (1 or 2) exits past Park Blvd.
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Neldam's Danish Bakery
3401 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609
La Farine
3411 Fruitvale Ave, Oakland, CA 94602
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I second Neldham's. They were still open the when I drove by there last week. Victoria Bakery in Berkeley might be another good choice.
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RW, arrrgh ... I am sofa king wee todd did. I should have looked at their website and saved us both some grief. They are just closed on MONDAYS for walk-in service. I skimmed instead of reading the notice:
http://www.bearclawbakery.com
"We will no longer be open for walk-in service on Mondays after September 1st. We will be answering the phone to take orders for later in the week or answer questions. We will also provide Monday orders of $20 or more by appointment made in advance. Preset orders to be picked up on Monday must be made by the previous Saturday before 11am. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions or concerns please contact us."
We can rest knowing the donuts and pumpkin pies are safe.
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That's a relief. Hope people will continue to go to this great local business. They are one of the good guys.
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