Local

Oh Boy! Seattle loses 2 iconic businesses in the Rainier Valley

Remo Borracchini’s Bakery and Oberto Factory Store and Deli

Oberto, Seattle’s iconic maker of jerky, sausages, hot links and other meat snacks, has closed its landmark shop on Rainier Avenue South. It will continue operating in Kent and Renton.

That’s not all Seattle lost over the weekend. Less than a half-mile away, Remo Borracchini’s Bakery and Mediterranean Market will not reopen after it was closed all winter.

Loved by locals for 100 years, operators of the family bakery, which was especially known for its cakes, said on its Facebook page Saturday that much of its business came from parties and gatherings; but without those gatherings for the last year during the pandemic, the business was devastated.

Once the announcement was made on Facebook, hundreds of fans shared memories about their wedding, baby shower and birthday cakes from Borracchini’s. Others remembered taking their kids to watch the cakes being decorated and wrote about the delicious pastries and baked goods they’d bring home.

If there was a special occasion, a cake from Borracchini’s was there.

For others, it was a cultural center where one could speak Italian to others there while buying products from Italy – olive oil, deli meats, sauces and other staples.

The bakery first started in Mario Borracchini’s basement before moving to the Rainier Avenue South location in 1939, the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods said.

The business was later passed on to Mario’s sons, and son Remo fully took over in 1965, Eater Seattle said. Not long after, the bakery became known for its special occasion cakes.

On the same weekend, Seattle lost the Oberto Factory Store and Deli -- with its iconic “Oh Boy! Oberto” neon sign -- just down the street from the bakery.

The company had been at the site since 1953 and was part retail shop, part factory and part food service, offering hot dogs and meatball sandwiches to hungry passers-by, or shoppers who stopped in to stock up on their favorite snacks for less.

The site was Oberto’s headquarters for a few decades before the company expanded to a larger facility in Kent. A new factory store was later built in Renton as well.

The Oberto family sold the business to a Canadian conglomerate in 2018.

Eventually, the site will be home to a new learning center for an elementary school next door.