Full Circle

What Does It Mean to Come “Full Circle”?

The phrase “full circle” refers to the fact that a circle ends in the same place where everything began.

My Great Grandfather started Lipani’s Bakery in 1902 on Jay Street a few years after moving to Rochester from Sicily. Over the years his sons and my Grandfather took over the business, and like tradition, soon their sons took over the bakery.

I remember going there as a little kid, the fresh baked smells hit me as we would be driving down the street. Later in life I worked there part time. To this day I love the smell of fresh baked goods.

In 1988 a tragic fire started in the bread oven and quickly spread throughout the bakery. After almost 2 years of blood, sweat, tears and equity, my Uncle Fran re-opened the bakery. For roughly 7 years and working day and night 7 days a week, my uncle finally had to call it quits with the family business.

This was devastating not only to the family, but as the bakery had such a strong hold in the community especially after being in business for over 90 years.

But here we are 33 years later with a new bakery in the Lipanis tradition…even better!