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Beloved downtown bakery and pizzeria closed for good
Crust and Crumb 1
Crust & Crumb owners George and Ellen Kosmas pose for a picture with State Senate candidate Jaron Brandon during a meet and greet event held at the downtown Turlock bakery right before it closed at the end of December (JOE CORTEZ/The Journal).

For George and Ellen Kosmas, owning and operating Crust & Crumb in downtown Turlock was a labor of love.

But after a decade of ups and downs, the Modesto couple decided to close the doors for good on Dec. 31.

“The economy really went sour,” said George Kosmas, a former electrical engineer who worked all over the globe. “There’s just nowhere near the same amount of people coming downtown — at least on our side of downtown.  And it’s the same in small towns all over. Everybody’s in the same boat. It’s really tough. We ate as much as we could, but it got to the point where there was no (profit) margin left in the business.”

With a menu featuring pizza and baked goods, Crust & Crumb was a popular option for breakfast and lunch.

“It started off really good,” said Kosmas, a graduate of the University of Utah. “Ellen is a food scientist and she formulated a lot of recipes.”

The couple formerly owned the popular Edith’s Gourmet Baking and were regulars on the farmers market circuit, with a presence at 50 different markets per week.

“We had seven trucks on the road running all over the place,” said Kosmas. “Then a friend of ours suggested that we get off the road and mentioned a place in Turlock. We decided that wasn’t a bad idea.”

Crust and Crumb 2016
George and Ellen Kosmas, pictured center second row, at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Crust & Crumb in July 2016 (Photo contributed).

After the initial success, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and changed everything.

“COVID just wiped out the whole downtown,” said Kosmas. “It never recovered.”

Shortly after the pandemic came a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma for George.

“I’m in remission now, but I developed neuropathy from the chemotherapy, and it wiped us out financially,” he said. “But there are some wonderful people in Turlock. One customer came in for a cinnamon roll and gave me $100 for it.”

But the kindness of customers could only take George and Ellen so far.

“I’m not healthy enough to do much right now, and I don’t think I’m hirable at this point,” said Kosmas, 68. “My wife now works for the Modesto School District, but we’re not in a position for both of us to retire. So, we’ve go to work.”

Kosmas — whose father was born in Crete and served in the Greek military during World War II, while his mother was a Rosie the Riveter who ran a steam shovel at an open-pit copper mine in Utah — thinks he and his wife may once again get involved with farmers markets. For now, however, he’s taking it slow, walking and exercising and trying to regain his health.

“You know, I don’t think I drew one penny out of that business in 10 years,” said Kosmas. “But it was never about making money. We were able to hire and support a lot of young kids. I’m glad we did it.”