Martino’s – A Burbank Bakery Institution

 

By Herb Vincent, from the July 2006 issue of the Senior Bulldogs News

 


 


Martino’s Bakery Grand Opening

 

May 20, 2006 marked the re-opening of Burbank’s well-known bakery which was started in 1921 when Mr. Victor Martino Sr. and his wife, Eva opened their Burbank Grill. This closed in 1924 and a year later they started making pies in their garage. They moved to Magnolia and Hollywood Way in 1936.

 

Amerio Corradi (Burbank High School, Winter 1941 Class) started working after school in his senior year, washing pots and pans part time after school. He worked full time after graduating in Spring of 1941 and was drafted into the US Army in early 1942.

 

Vic Martino (also Burbank High Class of 1941) started to work during summers and after school in 1936.  When Victor Sr. passed away in the spring of 1941, Vic started college and upon his father’s death, helped his mother run the production of pies and a few donuts for grocery stores and a few restaurants.

 

Both Vic and Amerio were drafted into the military, Amerio with the Army Corps of Engineers and Vic in the Air Corps. Mrs. Martino kept the business going, now making only cake donuts.

 

At the end of the war, both men returned to Burbank and joined Mrs. Martino making donuts. Wanting to retire, she turned over the business to Vic and his sister, Beverlee ‘43. The next location on Magnolia and Niagara had 4,000 sq. ft, where they made 9,000 dozen donuts a week, primarily for other bakeries.

 

Vic’s sister, Beverlee Martino worked for many years in the store’s retail division and sold her share of the business to Mario Corradi and Paul Eberhardt in 1948.  In 1971 Vic spent two years building the 48,000-sq. ft. facility at Alameda and Main St., moving in late 1969.

 

Martino’s started a wholesale division that delivered bakery goods from Santa Barbara to San Diego and Las Vegas and to Castaic in the north. They ended up with 64 routes, using semi tractor-trailers and smaller delivery trucks in the San Diego area.

 

Vic ran the business and sales and Amerio the production department with 200 employees. In February 1980 the business was acquired by Campbell Soup and the Martino’s output was 2 million servings of pastries daily to 3,500 –4,000 restaurants, becoming one of the largest pastry bakers for restaurants in the country.

 

In 1984 they were selling brownies and Danish rolls to a division of Campbell Soup Co. They froze the goods and shipped them to Pepperidge Farm’s Division Distribution Center in Connecticut, a semi load a day.

 

Yolanda Cortes, who is somewhat of a celebrity in Burbank, having just won a 1 Million Dollar Scratch-off in the California Lottery, was in charge of the shipping and packing department for Martino’s entire production. She had 24 ladies working in this part of the operation.

 

Vic and Amerio both continued on with Campbell’s as a part of the sales agreement, Vic for one year and Amerio for almost five.

 

Vic sold his home in Burbank to Attorney Bob Bowne and his wife, Dianne and moved to Carmel to build a larger home there.

 

Yolanda convinced Amerio to open a new Bakery on Verdugo near Olive Ave. a small retail store.

 

Five years later they found a larger place that had been Peppo’s Florist for 50 years.

 

At the Grand Opening Day, Vic came down from Washington to wish his former partner all the continued success in the world of baking.

 

The new bakery has parking on the side and an outdoors eating area. If you are anywhere near Burbank, be sure to stop in any day, except Sunday, and get dozen or so goodies.

 

NOTE: Vern Martino (Burbank High Class of Spring 1945) and his wife, Sue Samperi (Burbank High Class of Spring 1948) owned and operated Vern’s Restaurant on South Glenoaks for many years before retiring.  The restaurant was a gathering place where Sue warmly greeted all that entered.

 

A special thanks to Kay Stimolo Adams ’42 for suggesting we do an article on Martino’s Bakery. Also many thanks to Vic Martino and Mario for their help assembling the facts for this article.

 


 

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