Prolific Oven Closing Up Shop In All South Bay Locations

PALO ALTO, CA —South Bay bakery the Prolific Oven is shutting down and will close all three of its locations by the end of the month.

The business has operated for 39 years, starting in Palo Alto and expanding into locations in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. A Saratoga location closed in 2014.

Citing rising business costs and a shortage of skilled employees, the business owners announced on the bakery's website on Thursday that the last day of business would be Aug. 31.

One of the owners, Regina Chan, said it was difficult to recruit employees competing in tech land where companies are able to pay top dollar.

Chan said the bakery has been swamped with a mound of last-minute orders, and her staff has been working "around the clock."

At age 31, Chan isn't quite ready for retirement. Instead, she plans on focusing more on her other endeavors, including her restaurant Tapt in downtown Sunnyvale on Washington Street. The place is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"All things are being considered," she told Patch.

It sounds like her customers will not allow her to run out of ideas.

"People are coming out of the woodwork with ideas," she said, adding many have expressed dismay.

The website has prompted a quick response since the notice was posted last week.

"It has been a great honor and pleasure to have served you for nearly 40 years," the business owners wrote. "From the very beginning (1980) we set on an uncompromising path of high-quality baked goods... Each item always made in-house, from scratch, without any preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors."

—Bay City News; Sue Wood, Patch contributed to this report.