S3E28: Mike Soracco on a Half-Century of Making Focaccia

Mike Soracco has had the same job for 50 years. In this podcast, Mike, who today owns Liguria Bakery in North Beach, takes us back to the founding of this neighborhood staple. Mike's grandfather came to the US in 1907 from near Genoa, Italy. He worked in bakeries in North Beach for a few years before opening his own at the location where Liguria operates to this day (that's 109 years, for those keeping track). Mike describes the hard working environment he fell into when he started at the bakery as a teenager. Also, back then, the general public didn't know focaccia like we do today, and so Liguria was selling mostly to Italian-Americans in North Beach. He ends the podcast talking about the adjustments they've made at Liguria during the COVID-19 pandemic. ​We recorded this podcast in Washington Square Park in July 2020. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather