The sole kosher bakery in San Francisco has made headlines for hiring formerly incarcerated employees.
The nickname for Isaac Yosef’s Frena Bakery is the “Lifer Bakery.” Yosef has hired more than 25 ex-prisoners at his bakery and his restaurant, Hummus Bodega, according to the television station KTVU.
The Israeli businessman said his Jewish faith played a role in his decision to hire ex-convicts.
He added, “You can’t judge people for things they did when they were young. Or they were heat of the moment and nobody stopped them. If nobody stopped us, most of us would go to jail, too. You know? Many times.”
The bakery’s website says that the shop, which opened about five years ago, was inspired by Yosef’s great-grandfather, Moshe, who traveled from Iraq to Israel carrying with him a “wealth of delicious recipes.”