The interior of Fresno’s Valley Lavosh Baking Company
BY ANAHID VALENCIA
In the early 1920s, Gairez Saghatelian left his home in Moush, historic Armenia, and eventually settled in Fresno. In 1922, his original bakery, California Baking Company, now called “Valley Lahvosh Baking Company,” was born.
Located in downtown Fresno’s Armenian Town, Valley Lahvosh Baking co. still stands just over 100 years later and is survived by Gairez’s granddaughter, CEO and President Agnes Saghatelian, and a vibrant Armenian community.
“He came to this country to have a better life for him and his family and baking is what he knew, so [he] then built the bakery and here we are 102 almost 103 years later,” Agnes said.
Agnes took over the family business in 1993 after her mother, Janet Saghatelian, retired. Today, Valley Lahvosh is open to customers on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., though the corporation is busy with production and shipping every day.
For many, Valley Lahvosh is not just a bakery; it is a symbol of the Armenian presence in California.
Sitting parallel to Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, the first Armenian Apostolic church built in California, the two are some of the last remaining original buildings associated with Armenian Town and have survived decades of hardship, including racism toward Armenians, the Great Depression, the 2008 recession, COVID-19, and more.
“I think it’s kind of a staple, you know, the church and the bakery,” Agnes said. “We’re still standing and these things are staples in the Armenian community, [customers] know they can come here and get their fresh pita and lavash- a lot of families have grown up on that bread.”
Agnes also discussed the importance of remaining downtown and keeping the historic location where it is. “It sets the roots down in the Valley,” she said.
More than a century has passed and Valley Lahvosh has remained the same and within the same family, except for a slight name alteration. What next?
“I’m planning on being here for a while, at least the next 20 years or so,” said Agnes.
Agnes’s seventeen year-old daughter is free to choose her own career path, so if she wants to continue the family business, she absolutely can. If not, that is fine too, Agnes explained. What she does know is that she will continue to grow the company for as long as she remains there.
Agnes runs a bakery, but her true passion is her family, an Armenian trait that has kept the many generations within the diaspora strong. When asked what her motivation has been for all of these years, she discussed exactly this.
“It’s my family, it’s my culture, it’s my heritage, it’s all of those things and so for me, it’s just very important to hold onto that, so I’ve chosen to stay,” she said.
Maintaining her family’s work would not be possible without her wonderful community, staff, and customers, as with every business. Agnes has regular customers that come in whose grandparents or parents used to frequent Valley Lahvosh, and she could not be more grateful for this, she explained.
Though Valley Lahvosh is an Armenian bakery, both Armenians and non-Armenians alike enjoy the products. Thanks to the charcuterie board trend that has risen within the last year or so on social media, many people come in and choose from an array of crackers to fulfill their French appetizer dreams.
“The [smaller cracker] shapes have become much more mainstream,” Agnes said.
From her grandfather’s work to her mother’s to her own, the tradition and essence of Armenia is able to live on in the diaspora. There on M Street, passersby can hear the bells ring from Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church and smell the sweet scent of fresh bread being made across the street.
“I’m so proud of my Armenian culture and heritage, and I’m just so thankful that we can continue to be here and provide the lavash and the peda to the community and customers and families who have been eating it and enjoying it for decades,” Agnes said.
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