With over 12 years in the business together, the trio behind the flavors at Rosa’s Portuguese Bakery in Escalon is happy to be part of the community and share their products throughout the region.

Brother and sister Bernard Babakolan and Bernadet Babakolan, along with Claudia Torres, are partners in the business, taking over officially on April 1, 2013. Rosa’s Bakery was opened in Escalon in 1990 by Rosa Lima.

“We kept everything the same,” Bernadet explained of maintaining the tried-and-true recipes that Rosa sold them along with the business.

They expanded the offerings, however, to include a variety of pastries and croissants, with both sweet and savory items, along with branching out to take their products to Farmer’s Markets and a number of area festivals.

“We do all the local markets,” explained Bernadet, ranging from Modesto, Turlock and Oakdale to Tracy, Stockton and Angels Camp.

Bernard said some customer favorites are the Portuguese sweet breads and biscotti, along with the custard Napoleons and cream cheese filled cannoli.

All three are bakers and were busy on a recent Friday morning packaging up cookies, putting the finishing touches on some with crushed pistachios being sprinkled on top.

“Quality control is very important,” Bernadet said.

They take care to ensure the freshness and flavor of all their products, whether it’s the Portuguese sweet bread and rolls, the almond croissants, berry turnovers or the lemon finger cookies.

The bakery, at 2251 Jackson Avenue in Escalon, in the Escalon Center, has a few tables to sit down at and enjoy your morning pastry, or you can take a look at the items on the shelves and pick your favorites, already packaged to take home or take to the office and share with co-workers.

Business hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the bakery is closed Sunday and Monday.

“Rosa was from the Azores and she opened this up when she was in her 50’s,” Claudia shared of the original owner.

“This was her fourth location,” added Bernard.

So the recipes, brought from her homeland by Rosa, have been enjoyed by a couple of generations now.

Another new avenue the partners have expanded to is catering, providing custom orders for events around the region. You can call Rosa’s to place custom orders or for additional information at 209-838-7111. They also have a Facebook page.

The bakery has some seasonal specialties, including their very popular Portuguese donuts at Easter and Christmas, along with transforming their sweet bread into a coffee cake for the holidays.

In the shop itself, they stock a variety of imported Portuguese products, from hot crushed peppers to Extra Virgin Olive Oil, red pepper paste to white vinegar aged in oak barrels.

Their refrigerated section features the Goulart’s brand of linguica from California, along with Bacalhau, which is salted codfish. Also popular is the Portuguese Sao Jorge cheese.

“It’s very expensive but very good,” said Claudia.

All baking is done on site and there is an early morning crew that comes in to get the process started, with Bernard, Bernadet and Claudia considered the day shift workers.

Bernadet said they do have a dedicated following; when they recently missed a farmer’s market near the Bay Area, some customers made the drive to Escalon to pick up the products they would have purchased at the market.

Claudia added that their customers are often their best advertisers, sharing which products they like and encouraging others to visit the bakery.

“Portuguese bakeries are rare,” Claudia said, noting she and her partners are grateful for the loyal following.

She pointed to the solid base established by Rosa that helped the trio become successful partners in the business.

“For two months she had us in here, it was like boot camp,” Claudia explained of how Rosa was there to oversee their training after she sold the business, making sure they had the recipes and the techniques down before letting them go on their own.

“All of our ingredients, our way of baking, is old fashioned,” Clauda said. “Solid recipes, no preservatives and we all do everything, we are multi-taskers.”

Bernadet said while they all are involved in every facet of the business, she said “the main boss” is the one upstairs, as she pointed toward the sky.

“That’s very important,” agreed Claudia.

The three also are in agreement that quality control is a favorite part of the work, as they need to taste test to make sure the sweet and savory items for sale meet their flavor and texture standards.

“Care for your customers,” Bernadet said of what helps make the difference in people being repeat visitors to Rosa’s Bakery.

And when offering a tip for home bakers, Claudia emphasized that it isn’t just the ingredients that matter.

“You have to have the touch,” she said. “You have to bake with love.”