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P eoplewho aren't locals are surprised when they find out there is a real Gayle behind the counter of Gayle's Bakery and Rosticceria at 504 Bay Ave. "There's always new people that come into town or people that come out of town that ask, 'Are you Gayle,'" said Gayle Ortiz, the co-owner and co- founder of the business. The real Gayle is a 67-year-old woman with a hearty laugh and wry sense of humor who lives three blocks away from the bakery. The bakery that fields an average of 2,200 daily transactions has humble beginnings. In the 1970s, Ortiz worked as a waitress at the Crow's Nest while her husband toiled away as a house painting con- tractor working on jobs in San Francisco. It was happenstance that Joe Ortiz was hired to paint the exterior of a cooking school and the school's owner offered to pay him through cooking lessons. And that's where Gayle Ortiz found a passion. She ended up taking an eight-week baking class followed by a second slate of classes. In four months, Ortiz started a part- time baking business out of their kitchen. In the early days, she'd rise at 7 a.m. She would then roll out the crois- sant dough, put the croissants in the oven and then work her wait- ressing job. Their home was their base of operations then. It wasn't unusual to have 60 pounds of By Calvin Men Gayle'sisafortyyearfavoriteinCapitola continues on C5 Campbell 408-378-4921 900 DELL AVE. Morgan Hill 408-779-7368 95 E. MAIN AVE. Hollister 861-638-1999 2610 SAN JUAN RD. Salinas 831-424-7368 210 W.MARKET ST. Santa Clara 408-727-0822 2550 LAFAYETTE ST. Santa Cruz 831-477-7133 3700 SOQUEL AVE. Watsonville 831-722-0334 285 W. BEACH ST. •AIRCOMPRESSORS • AUTO TOOLS • CHAIN SAWS • GENERATORS • GARDEN TOOLS • LOG SPLITTERS • MIXERS • FORKLIFTS • MANLIFTS • LIGHT TOWERS • REACH LIFTS • BACKHOES • TRUCKS • TRAILERS www.AToolShed.com 1-800-A-TOOL-SHED WE DELIVER equipmentrentals&sales we pay the sales tax on rentals! Gayles Bakery and Rosticeria. (Photos Shmuel Thaler -- Santa Cruz Sentinel) | COMMUNITY | SANTACRUZSENTINEL.COM FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2017 4 C