The Bakery

For 70 years one family has owned and operated the Yazdani Bakery in Mumbai, India.

The city used to have many of these Iranian style bakeries that make and serve various breads, buns and tea. Open to the street, but shaded by a deep entryway, you can smell the fresh baked goods from many meters away as you walk down the middle of the street, as most people do, dodging small cars, trucks, motor scooters and bicycles.

Everything about the building holds the character of old Bombay. The light blue paint, the dusty marble stairs, the tin trays displaying the day’s offerings and the two signs above the door. It appears that at some point over the last seven decades, it was decided the old sign needed to be replaced, but not removed. Whatever the details, there is a story there.

The bakery is just a few blocks from the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Indian High Court. In recent years it has attracted a new competitor from the west. Starbucks is right around the corner, but the character of Starbucks is mass produced. The character of Yazdani has been earned and therefore cannot be matched.