Found: Family at Columbus Baking Co.

By Nicholas Reichert

The rich aroma of fresh bread hugs the air like a warm blanket. And after a few steps into the Columbus Baking Company, located at 502 Pearl St., this bakery appears to be more than a standard bread shop.

Owned and operated by Jimmy Retzos, this little bakery has operated on the North Side of Syracuse since 1895. A Retzos family member has been an employee or has been an owner since his grandfather immigrated to America in 1926.

And the family business has resulted in a form of traditional baking that sticks to the basic ingredients of flour, water, yeast and salt. “If it’s not broke, we won’t fix it,” Retzos said.

Columbus Baking Co. built an addition to its bakery to house a deli that sells Columbus bread as sandwiches. The bakery also joined the mobile food business last year with its concession trailer, which it takes to various events around town, Retzos said.

The Retzos family and the residents of the North Side neighborhood have found a home in the Columbus Baking Company. Over the years, people who were raised in or lived in Syracuse and then moved from the area will often return to Columbus Baking to purchase its old-fashioned bread, Retzos said.

“The first place people come back to is here,” Retzos said. “There is only one place left where they bake bread old-fashioned and that’s here.”