A renowned bakery rises again: Lou's Pastry builds on its tradition of excellence

Pat and Jolene Sbrizza stand in front of a wall of pictures at their shop showing three generations of family who have worked to make fine pastry; inset, some of the specialties all make from scratch. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - After serving a stint in the Marines and then 15 years working for UPS, Pat Sbrizza decided maybe it was time for him to consider going back into the family business, which is baking authentic, Italian-style pastry from recipes dating back 150 years.
"When I decided to quit UPS I got into a voc-ed program for veterans and went to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts," he said on Friday. "I learned a lot and then decided to get back into the family business."
The newest iteration of the family's pastry shop opened in August is, again, called Lou's Pastry and is located in the partially renovated Lilac Plaza, which is undergoing a face lift that is expected to be fully completed next spring.
And while the plaza itself, is not yet what you'd call aesthetically impeccable, the pastry is.
But then, the Sbrizza family is well-known for their pastry prowess over three generations, from Boston to Chelsea, Mass., to Rochester, where his father, Lou Sbrizza Jr. ran a pastry shop where Charlie's Pizza is now located on North Main Street from 1997-2008.
Lou Sbrizza Jr. had earlier owned his own pastry shop in Chelsea in the '80s, and his father, the late Lou Sbrizza Sr. had been head baker at the Waldorf in Boston.
"A lot of our recipes are over 150 years old," Pat Sbrizza noted. "And we don't use any new tech to make it. We still make our pastry cream the same way we always have, in a 60-quart copper kettle with a wooden paddle."
Working alongside him are his wife, Jolene, and his mom and dad, Lou Jr. and Deb.
Pat Sbrizza said all of their pastry is homemade and made from scratch. Some of their customer favorites are their Italian rum pastry, Italian butter cookies and, of course, cannoli.
"This is North End old-school Italian pastry, and I'm happy to carry on the family tradition for a third generation," Pat Sbrizza added.

Lou's Pastry is located at 185 Wakefield St.

For more info click here