Food & Drink

Gluten-free P*DE*Q bakery closing, will focus on wholesale business


P*DE*Q owner Flavia Takahashi-Flores talks about her tapioca-based Brazilian cheese bread at Costco’s Roadshow program in 2013. P*DE*Qs are available at more than 20 Costco stores in Northern California.
P*DE*Q owner Flavia Takahashi-Flores talks about her tapioca-based Brazilian cheese bread at Costco’s Roadshow program in 2013. P*DE*Qs are available at more than 20 Costco stores in Northern California. The Fresno Bee file

P*DE*Q Bakery and Bistro is closing its storefront location in Clovis, but it will continue its wholesale and online business selling gluten-free food.

The company is a favorite among the gluten-free community and got its start making Brazilian pao de queijo cheese bread in 2011. It has since added gluten-free pizza dough, bread, pies, cookies and other gluten-free goodies.

Founder Flavia Takahashi-Flores shared a letter with customers via email and social media Wednesday evening saying the last day for the bakery at Clovis and Herndon avenues would be Monday, Aug. 24.

“At the end of the day, our ‘brick and mortar’ storefront wasn’t financially sustainable,” she said in the letter.

P*DE*Q once had two locations. Its original Echo Avenue is now Ampersand Ice Cream.

Your trust and loyalty of P*DE*Q is very important to me. For that, I want to say a very heartfelt thank you.

P*DE*Q owner Flavia Takahashi-Flores in a letter to customers

Takahashi-Flores, who could not be reached for comment, said in her letter that the business will focus on its online and wholesale business, which has doubled every year.

“There is a strong pipeline that will help bring our products to you on a more widespread local and nationwide level,” she said.

Customers can expect to see gluten-free P*DE*Qs, Pizza*Q pizza dough and minipies SweetGems at more stores and restaurants.

The P*DE*Qs are sold in about two dozen Costco stores in Northern California.

Bethany Clough: 559-441-6431, @BethanyClough

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Gluten-free P*DE*Q bakery closing, will focus on wholesale business."

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