Gerry’s Cakes has been a fixture of Chestnut Street in Menlo Park for 33 years, but soon owner Sohrab Molavi will have to find a new location or shut the business down. The building that houses Gerry’s Cakes as well as neighboring businesses Shiok! Singapore Kitchen and Ela Lingerie was recently sold, and the new landlord asked the businesses to vacate the premises, according to Molavi.
Gerry’s Cakes and its neighbors were originally given just 30 days from Jan. 1 to move or shut down, but Molavi told this publication that the date has been extended to Feb. 24. Molavi anticipates that Gerry’s Cakes will close for business at the end of January, and that he will take the month of February to move everything out of his current location.
Molavi would like to find a new location in Menlo Park, but said that it is seeming like an impossibility due to the high costs of moving.
“If I am able to get a new location, I will move,” said Molavi. “If not, I will have to sell my equipment. … I would like to stay in Menlo Park, but the rent is so high everywhere. There is a lot of empty space but it is hard to afford to move to a new location.”
Molavi bought the bakery from previous owner Vicki Waters in 2010 after working as a bakery employee at the location for three months. He had honed his pastry craft as a student at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and subsequently worked at several bakeries around California and Washington before settling at Gerry’s Cakes.
Molavi has owned the Gerry’s Cakes business for 15 years, but the recipes for the Gerry’s Cakes cupcakes, cakes and cookies have been a common feature of Menlo Park birthdays, graduations and other special events for nearly 70 years. Many of the recipes that Molavi uses for his pastries were passed down to him by former Gerry’s Cakes owner Gerry Stagi, who founded the business at 1141 Chestnut St. in 1992.
Stagi learned the recipes from his father John Stagi, who operated Pink Pastry bakery on Santa Cruz Avenue from 1957 to 1986.
Many of the recipes that Sohrab Molavi uses come from previous owner Gerry Stagi. He also uses some of his own recipes, as well as recipes he learned in culinary school. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
Many of the recipes that Sohrab Molavi uses come from previous owner Gerry Stagi. He also uses some of his own recipes, as well as recipes he learned in culinary school. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
Many of the recipes that Sohrab Molavi uses come from previous owner Gerry Stagi. He also uses some of his own recipes, as well as recipes he learned in culinary school. Photo by Eleanor Raab.
“I still continue to use some of Gerry’s recipes because people got used to these recipes,” said Moldavi. He also uses some of his own recipes and ones that he learned at culinary school.
Moldavi doesn’t know what will come next for his business, and said that there is a high likelihood that he will have to close his doors. Ultimately, he is grateful to the Menlo Park community for patronizing his business for 15 years.
“It has been an honor to serve this Menlo Park neighborhood,” he said. “My deepest gratitude to the people who were with us for 15 years and before.”
Help save Gerry’s donate to the gofundme to help them find a new location!
https://gofund.me/65ece6ea