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continued from C5 buttercrammedinto their kitchen fridge or to see a cat coated in a fine dusting of flour. In a year the business grew big enough that the two decided it was time to open an official storefront. Using the money she saved as a waitress with loans from the bank and her father — conveniently in the restaurant equip- ment business — they opened the 800-square- foot space off Bay Avenue in 1978. Joe Ortiz did his fair share of double duty as well, waking up at 2 a.m. to help Gayle in the bakery before head- ing off to his painting job at 10 a.m. "Then I'd come back, help Gayle sweep and mop and then we'd have dinner and hop into bed," he said. In the early days, the menu featured just 11 items housed in one refrigerator. In the de- cades since, the menu has grown to more than 500 delectable options and received 20 remod- els that expanded it to 10,000 square feet. One of the most important changes was the addition of Louisa Beers, a co-owner in the business. Beers started as a baker in 1981 and gradually built a relationship with Joe and Gayle. In 1989, they offered her full partnership while on a research trip in Italy. Beers said she still remembers the name of the bar where it all happened: Harry's Bar in Venice. Today, Beers runs the day-to-day operations as an owner, focus- ing on the quality and craftsmanship Gayle's has become known for. They still make their own pickles, mayon- naise and barbecue sauce. Beers says she credits the staff for its skill and dedication, with some that have been there for more than 20 years. "It's just doing the best that we can do," Beers said. "Being hon- est, doing things the right way, following the procedure, not cutting corners. If you make a mistake, grow from it." With Beers running the daily operations, Joe and Gayle have focused on research and development. In two words: They travel. They poke their heads into bakeries in Europe to discuss techniques and recipes. They once spent a weekend in Denmark studying open-faced sandwiches and pastries. "We're part of the creative team," Gayle Ortiz said. "One very small part of the cre- ative team. We pride ourselves in allowing our staff to come up with things." With the expansion of the menu and the space came the inva- sion of loyal customers who have returned with children and grandchil- dren. Ortiz doesn't have a favorite memory, only saying that it's usually the latest note or con- versation she had. The most recent note came from a couple who scrawled a mes- sage on the back of a receipt about a wed- ding cake she made decades before. "It said, 'You won't remember us but we will always remember you. You were the only one who would use our homemade blackberry jam inside the cake. It meant so much to us,'" Ortiz recalled. Though the bakery has expanded and flourished, there are no plans to move outside of the world built at the corner of Bay and Capitola avenues. 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