When Bakers and Baristas opened their doors in 2015, I was still new to specialty coffee. There weren’t a lot of options at the time near the Cerritos/Long Beach area of SoCal. Most of the cool spots were at least a 30 minute drive from me or deep in LA. So I was really excited to have something open up down the street from me that offered good coffee

I recall my first experience at their shop and tasting my first tonic and espresso. My mind was blown by the unique flavors of the espresso and the tonic water. It was equally surprising to find out that they also serve amazing food! You could grab a great cup of coffee, get a bite to eat and take a piece of cake home with you in one hit. Bakers and Baristas quickly became one of my go-to spots for coffee, food and desserts. My wife and I were there all the time. Even my kids became “regulars” (mainly for their macarons). Bakers and Baristas became a staple in our food and beverage choice over the years.

How It All Started

The masterminds behind this operation are brothers Eric and Joe Quan. For two guys that like to stay behind the scenes, we were happy that they agreed to sit with us and talk about their business. The brothers grew up in a traditional Chinese household where they learned values such as a hard work ethic and humility. They credit their dad with raising them with an appreciation for food and drinks. They grew up trying anything and everything. When it came to coffee, it was routine for their dad to drive to Starbucks and drink black coffee. Eric wasn’t really into black coffee, but over time he began to appreciate the intense roasty flavors of black coffee at the time.

Eric recalls his first experience with specialty coffee at Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco, about 12 years ago. Back then, there was only a handful of specialty coffee shops which also included Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Klatch Coffee and a few other shops scattered in LA. But the flavors of specialty coffee changed his perspective on how coffee should taste. He has since introduced this experience with his dad. Eric and Joe say their dad has a much higher standard for coffee now.

The Advertiser, The Baker and The Coffee Problem

As Eric explained, he initially wanted to pursue a career in advertising. He was very artistic growing up and was always drawing. He figured he would get into something creative. But after graduating, he felt a pull towards helping out his parents’ business Candle Light Bakery. Candle Light was already gaining massive popularity after the premier of the TV show “Cake Boss” in 2009. They said they were really lucky, since the shop was offering custom cakes around the same time as the show.

Within the first year of helping out at the bakery, they doubled their sales and were also part of remodeling and modernizing the shop. It may have been too early, but Eric attempted to introduce specialty coffee at this time. “Things got extremely busy and that was the time I fell in love with the industry. Not just coffee, but the food and beverage industry in general.”

However, with the popularity of cakes and pastries at the shop, he found it difficult to introduce specialty coffee to the community. Although the general public wasn’t ready for it, it gave Eric a chance to build some key relationships with people in coffee. Intelligentsia played a pivotal role through their wholesale coffee program, training and setting them up with equipment.

It only became a matter of time before Eric and Joe decided to look at options outside of the bakery. With a passion for quality, and some training in specialty coffee, the two began to brainstorm. They had no idea what exactly they were going to do, but the first thing they needed to figure out was where to open up a shop.

How To Start A Business 101

Apparently one of the things you need to know before opening up a shop is… nothing at all. All you need to do is start doing. Eric and Joe constantly surrounded themselves with knowledgable people all the time. And they had a ton of support from friends and family that helped them figure things out along the way. Sure, they made mistakes, but they always viewed those mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.

Initially they were looking around in LA for a place to set up shop. But after moving to Cerritos, they began to look at some nearby plazas. One particular spot caught their eye. CHA2O was one of the few popular spots in Cerritos at the time and drew in crowds throughout the day. My wife and I were often part of those crowds in the early 2010s. (Brick toast and boba anyone?)

Eric and Joe would sit in their car at this plaza and just watch the foot traffic at different times of the day. They needed to reassure themselves that their idea would work in this location. They had their eye set on one particular spot, and once the ‘For Lease’ sign went up, they signed the paperwork within one week.

The place was too big to be sustained by coffee sales alone, so the Quans decided to offer pastries and desserts. They would focus on making everything in-house as a way to set them apart. Eric was already passionate about French pastries and culture and incorporated that into their pastry program.

Creating a Team and Creating a Name

“We just kind of pieced everything together, and everything fell into place.” Eric recounted the early days after signing the lease. Their cousin Holly would join the team and help them build a solid front of house staff. Their buddy Kevin Lorico joined as their main chef and kickstarted their tasty menu. While they all had some prior experience working in restaurants, none of them had experience starting one from scratch. They both feel very fortunate for the dedication of the staff they were able to put together to help support the business.

However, the name seemed a bit harder to come up with. This one didn’t come easy. They had a few options, but nothing seemed to fit the core of their business. So they decided to be straightforward and call it what it is. The bakers bake the pastries, and baristas make the coffee. Bakers and Baristas.

What most people don’t know is that Bakers and Baristas have an incredible food program. It’s not just coffee and pastries as the name implies. When I first started coming to their store, I thoroughly enjoyed their foods and loved how they made everything from scratch. Everything was made with care and precision. They changed up their menu based on the season. All of this they still do today. So what surprised me the most during our conversation with Eric is learning that their food program was only decided one month before they opened their doors! While they had to move fast to put together a menu, they applied the same level of care to the quality of their food.

“I don’t want to eat food that has a million different elements on one plate. I want to eat food that highlights whatever the main ingredient is.”

Eric Quan

Water > Coffee

Starting off, Eric was always inspired by the Bay area and Portland, visiting places such as Four Barrel, Ritual Coffee, and Heart Roasters. It was not uncommon to find these roasters on their shelves. They even offered coffee from Tim Wendelboe for a season. Eric admitted that they were overly ambitious in the early days and that it was difficult to maintain consistency when you have lots of different coffee on hand. When COVID hit, they were forced to slim down on their coffee offerings, but it allowed them to focus more on consistency.

Now, they focus on coffees that are compatible with their water. Yes, they take their H2O seriously. I wish I knew everything about all the nuances of water filters and minerals (I’m putting this on myself to research this. Expect a post in the future on just water!) So for now, take Eric at his word that they have a top notch water filtration system and their water is extremely consistent. “You can get coffee from anywhere, but it won’t taste the way we want without having a good water composition” Eric says.

Having good water and coffee is one thing, but having well trained baristas is another. It’s apparent by the way the baristas talk about coffee that they are very knowledgable. You can easily have a conversation with one of their current baristas, Brian or Matthew, while they turn out drinks. Eric says their baristas are trained to dial in their espresso each day, along with testing their water system for quality.

Bakers and Baristas and Beyond

The brothers support their staff even beyond employment within their four walls. Roscoe Aquila of Seven Syllables Coffee is a prime example. After being part of the starting lineup as a barista for a number of years, he ended up starting his own roasting business and now supplies wholesale coffee to Bakers and Baristas. It’s really nice to see relationships like this come full circle. I’ve even spotted a couple other baristas that serve coffee elsewhere in the area.

Eric and Joe agree that the biggest challenge to running the business is being profitable without taking shortcuts. They’ve been dedicated to quality since day one, and they plan to continue in that fashion. It’s been eight years since they’ve opened their doors and have had their share of ups and downs. Now they are looking forward to bringing even more new ideas to light in coming years.

While Eric and Joe maintain a relatively low profile at the store, they are determined to continue to serve high-quality products to their customers. They don’t like the spotlight much, so I consider this a rare opportunity to write about them. You might find the brothers washing dishes or jumping in the kitchen to help out in the back of house. But you can be sure that they are propelling their team forward to great things.

“We just care about serving people quality products and making people happy.”

Eric and Joe Quan