Palacio Podcast
Gemmae Bake Shop: A Taste of The Philippine Islands in Long Beach
The Gemmae Bake Shop at 1356 West Willow Street in Long Beach is a great story of Immigrant Success. Prescilla and Catherine Tolentino are the mother-daughter duo behind the Gemmae Bake shop and they are eager to share that story as they are the food and culture of the Philippine Islands.
This profile on Prescilla and Catherine Tolentino of West Long Beach’s Gemmae Bake Shop is the second in a series exploring the successes of immigrants in Long Beach. Immigrant Success is a collaborative podcast project between Long Beach Post and PalacioMagazine.com. Long Beach Post reporter Stephanie Rivera is the podcast host.
Segment One: 00:08 Prescilla Tolentino talks about starting Gemmae Bake Shop in the Philippines.
Segment Two: 09:48 Prescilla explains how she started Gemmae’s in West Long Beach and Catherine shares her reason for continuing the business.
Segment Three: 19:07 Catherine and Prescilla talk about favorite dishes, the immigrant experience and the importance of a good crew.
Prescilla Tolentino had, by all accounts, a successful bakery business in the Philippines when her husband convinced her to move their family to the U.S. about 30 years ago.
“He said, ‘Why not try it?’ Tolentino said. “So, we did.”
They packed up and left everything in their native country to start over–joining relatives already in the U.S. and making a new home in West Long Beach. However, when her husband suggested that she stay at home to take care of their children while he worked, Tolentino had other plans. She missed her bake shop, but she also wanted to make sure her children had a good education, a good future.
“That’s why I opened one here,” Tolentino said of Gemmae Bake Shop, which she’s been running since 1993. “I couldn’t live without this business.”
Over 25 years later, Gemmae Bake Shop is still in business. The Bake Shop’s West Willow Street storefront has been expanded multiple times and is currently part of a new trend in the food scene that has brought in non-natives to try Filipino cuisine. The matriarch, Prescilla Tolentino, has also found a partner in her daughter Catherine.
“I always knew I was going to be part of this business,” said Catherine, who grew up helping her mother around the shop.
When the time came to talk about the store’s future, both women agreed they wanted the business to continue.
“I told her that whatever it took I want to be the one who leads this store,” Catherine said.
Hopefully, she said, that means carrying it on for another 25 years.
More on Gemmae Bake Shop
“It all started in a tiny food stall near Manila. Over 35 years ago, Gemmae Bake Shop opened its doors and began serving fresh and traditional Filipino dishes. With a love for good food and a passion to share our culture, we opened our doors in Long Beach, CA in 1993 with the goal to bring a taste of the Philippine islands to you.
We are proud to have served Long Beach for 25 years. Led by mother-daughter duo – Prescilla and Catherine Tolentino – we hope to continue to share our love of traditional Filipino food for many more years.”
The Gemmae Bake Shop is located at 1356 West Willow Street, Long Beach, CA 90810, (562) 492 – 9119. Visit their website at www.gemmae.com.
