City Council Recognizes Del Pilar Bakery

COLTON>> At the recent Colton City Council meeting, Council Member Dr. Luis S. Gonzalez presented Del Pilar with a “business focus” recognition award for 12 years of business in the City of Colton. Del Pilar Bakery is owned by Frucruoso and Elia Ferrel and is a family business that has been a part of the Colton downtown business district for 12 years. "This establishment is one of our hometown success stories and totally a family affair,” said Gonzalez. Del Pilar Bakery is located at 183 East H Street, on the corner of Ninth Street and H Street. The bakery originally opened in March 2005, and at that time sold pan dulce, coffee and champurradas - a type of Mexican hot chocolate. Over the years, they have expanded to include menudo and every type of tamale imaginable. Every morning, people stop by for coffee and pan dulce, and in most cases, they will also order a couple of tamales to take home, or take out, for a special lunch treat at work. Besides the family, Del Pilar has two employees, Maricella, who has been working with the family for about 25 years, and Rosalba (Rosa), who the family considers “the newbie”, said Martha, the manager and daughter of Mr and Mrs. Ferrel, even though she’s been working there for 5 years. Mr. and Mrs. Ferrel came to California from Michoacán, Mexico in 1976 and moved to Baldwin Park, and then La Puente. They established a bakery in El Monte and soon bought a home in Fontana, commuting every day to their bakery shop for 25 years. After that time, they began to think about retiring and decided to open a bakery closer to home in Colton. The H Street property was available and looked promising in terms of its location and history as a food establishment. The Ferrels bought the property and opened it as Del Pilar Bakery. When asked about the origin of the name, Martha stated that “Del Pilar was the name of a patron saint that was recognized and honored through the church we attended in Mexico." "With this solid spiritual foundation, it is no wonder that the family would be blessed with such a successful business, which in turn benefits the city of Colton,” Gonzalez said. Twelve years ago, their plan was to operate the bakery for a short time, and then retire happily. But, because of their success and growing clientele, they are still open and as a result, they are increasingly becoming one of Colton’s downtown mainstays. “To me, Colton has a small town feeling. It’s like a one big, happy family,” Martha said. Fructuoso, who is 90 years old, wakes up every day at 3:30 a.m. and comes in to cook in the morning. Elia still works in the kitchen, and the wonderful aroma of fresh tamales and pan dulce continues to permeate the area around Ninth and H Street. Gonzalez, who said he occasionally drops in for coffee with some of the workers from Squires Lumber, said its a great place to be in the morning. "Truck drivers pull in and out, people stop in for coffee and many locals stock up on their tamales for take out," he said. Gonzalez said a great time to be around Del Pilar is Christmas, when every type of tamale is offered to their customers. Chicken, pork, beef, cheese and jalapeno, and those delicious sweet tamales with corn and pineapple. Word on the street says that they also have great menudo and will add “nopales” (cactus) to any order upon request. As far as future plans, Elia Ferrel said she would like to keep the business going as long as her health is good. Down the line, Martha and her brother David have talked about taking over the business. "Either way, the people of Colton are blessed to have such a wonderful family-oriented restaurant business to satisfy our tastes for home-made tamales and authentic Mexican food," Gonzalez said. Del Pilar Bakery is open 5:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., 7 days a week. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy fresh tamales, and pan dulce, each and every day. "Congratulations to the Ferrel family for the success of the Del Pilar Bakery," Gonzalez said.