It’s Hip to Be Square at Garden Square — Former Bakers Square Restaurant Offers Great Quality and Value

It's a proud Chamber of Commerce moment for Garden Square owners David and Maria Lazaro, who were honored with a special commendation from Meaghan McLaughlin from State Assemblyman Anthony Adams of the 59th Assembly District.

Same La Verne location, same manager, practically the same food (maybe even better) … Only its name and ownership have changed, and some of the trademarked dishes on the menu have new titles.

It’s hardly the first time a business has changed its name. Before Google was Google, it was BackRub. Healthy Choice started as Diet Deluxe. Before you were sipping Pepsi, you were gulping Brad’s Drink.

The business we’re talking about, of course, is Bakers, err, Garden Square (old habits die hard) on the northeast corner of Foothill and Wheelers Avenues.

You see, when Bakers Square, under bankruptcy protection laws, decided to exit California, it began selling its restaurants and assets to all bidders, including buyers such as Polly’s Pies, DuPars and other casual restaurant chains. The trouble was, the Bakers Square in La Verne, flew under the radar.

That was good news for David Lazaro, Bakers Square’s longtime general manager, who decided, at age 47, it was time to become his own boss and own his own slice of the American Dream. He offered to buy the restaurant’s contents, such as stoves, double-door refrigerators, tables, chairs, mixers, pots, pans and display cases, and run the business under a new name, Garden Square. He had to negotiate his own lease the with the building’s landlord.

With the deal now done, the real work has just begun. He has the big job of reintroducing his familiar, yet new restaurant to the community. Yet if you know David and his amazing story, you know there’s no one better suited for turning the former Bakers Square and now Garden Square into one of the San Gabriel Valley’s finest family and casual dining restaurants.

Just one of the many hot new deals being served up daily the the new Garden Square.

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Nobody handed David a silver spoon. Until he was 13, he grew up in the Mexican state of Jalisco. His family eventually moved north and settled in the San Gabriel Valley, with David attending Covina High School. “My family came here looking for a better life,” he said simply and softly.

At 16, David was hired by Charlie Brown’s as a dishwasher and a busboy before he caught on with the Carrows restaurant chain. Work not school was the first option. Sixty-hour work weeks as an assistant cook and then cook were common. When he finally decided to go back to school at night to learn about computers and accounting from El Dorado College in West Covina, he didn’t pare back his work schedule. He and his wife Maria, to whom he has now been married 24 years, had three of their own children to raise and support.

 With his new degree, David was now manager material, and the Carrows restaurant chain put him on the fast track for the next 20 years, managing several of its restaurants throughout Southern California. In November of 2001, he applied for a general manager position with Bakers Square and got it.

“I was hired right here,” David said, pointing to a nearby table in his La Verne restaurant, which can serve close to 100 diners. After training in the La Verne location, he worked briefly in Pasadena before returning to manage the La Verne restaurant. He remained a loyal employee until the end. As Bakers Square was exiting California, he also helped wind down its restaurants in Claremont, Downey and Montebello.

According to David, California was no longer the meal ticket for Bakers Square’s owner, VICORP.

“I knew it was going to close, “David said. “The company didn’t want anything to do with its California stores. The minimum wage was too high in California versus other states, the labor laws were too strict and their profit went into covering their losses.”

Jim Nicholas, owner of Accent Business Center in La Verne and new La Verne Chamber of Commerce President, congratulates David and Maria Lazaro on the official opening of Garden Square Restaurant.

These conditions, however, didn’t deter David, who believed he could retain Bakers Square’s famous quality, hospitality and value and even add to it with his own unique recipes and ideas garnered from 30 years in the restaurant industry.

Ninety percent of his menu retains Baker Square’s signature dishes and about 10% bear his own stamp. To the pitas, mixed grills, stir fry’s, and skillets, he’s added some Italian and Mexican inspirations.

He continues to watch every plate going out to a customer like a mother hen. “Trust me, not a dish goes out that I don’t oversee,” he said. “Everything has to be perfect.”

If it’s not to the customer’s satisfaction, David says he can make changes on the spot. He doesn’t have to run suggestions through corporate and wait weeks or months for innovations to be tested and implemented.

Fault David for starting his venture in the throes of a horrible recession, which has seen his shopping center’s primary tenant Vons close its doors and move across the street, but don’t question his commitment to providing his customers taste, quality and value.

Any day of the week from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., customers can enjoy Garden Square’s “Square Deal” breakfast for $3.99, which includes a choice of two eggs, two crispy bacon strips or sausage links and one choice of two pancakes, fruit, hash browns, ½ waffle, ½ French toast or two biscuits with gravy. Other delicious breakfast fare includes breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros and variety of scrumptious skillets.

For lunch, there are tempting offerings, such as southwest and Asian chicken salads and classic club, Philly cheese sandwiches, and hamburger choices on the menu, including a zesty Tex-Mex burger topped with Jack cheese, diced green chilies, chipotle mayo, guacamole and onion rings, serviced with fresh salsa and jalapeno slices on the side.

For dinner, there are traditional dishes such as meatloaf, turkey and steak dinners along with grilled and satisfying chicken and veggie stir fry options.

For dessert, Bakers Square, we mean, Garden Square, makes its classic pies fresh on the premises, which is a point of particular pride for David. He has worked with his suppliers’ chefs to perfect his pies. “No pie is ever frozen, the way they are at some popular chains,” David said. “We make them fresh right here.”

There’s literally a lot on David’s plate right now, but he says he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I don’t care if you’re running a hot dog stand or cooking for the President of the United States, there’s a pressure to perform. You want to be the best,” he said.

“I just ask our local residents to stop in and reconnect with us. More than ever, I think they’ll find we have a lot to offer.”

Restaurant hours are Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Look for special coupons and offers in the Coupon section of La Verne Online. La Verne University students, with valid ID, also receive 10% off their orders.

Garden Square in La Verne is located at Wheeler and Foothill in the CVS Shopping Center. For more information and specials, please call (909) 593-2600.

Here are some of the new customers who enjoyed dining at Garden Square in La Verne.