Columbus Baking

the best. no one can copy it no matter how hard they try.

«I LOVE bread!!»… Oprah.
Well, so do I !!! Just tried this bakery today. What a find, a real gem in the city. Bought two loaves… a round and the traditional. Then went back two seconds later and got a flat. Ate half of the flat on the way home. (we were starving!) I don’t like driving downtown but it’s SO worth it for this delicious bread. Very nice man behind the counter. It was like walking into the oven itself when you open the door. Amazing place!

Traditional, classic, hole in the wall. Looks like a scene out of a turn of the century bakery. Amazing bread, quick and kind service, just my kind of place.

Buy two loafs. One for wherever you are going and one for your car ride there.

They do Italian bread here, and they do it right. Its seriously delicious. I made a special drive out to try this place and another Italian bakery in the area. and boy am I glad I did! The bread was the perfect balance of a crusty outside and tender inside. Its only 2.50 $ a loaf. I bought two. and only one of them made it home, as the other one was devoured by my passengers on the car ride back. I also grabbed some raw pizza dough. I made a pizza with it last night, not using any special equipment, like a pizza stone. only used a baking sheet, and it came out awesome! It was probably the best pizza Ive ever made at home, because of the crust. The atmosphere inside is totally bare bones, but thats ok. i was there to buy bread, not admire the astetics of their decore. Go here. its worth it.

If you can find it… crusty bread that is about as good as I’ve had anywhere. Perfect complement for a red saucy meal. I almost think this place is run for charity given the prices.

This place has been open since 1492. The owner was some Spanish guy that sailed across some big sea and set up shop right here on the NW side of Syracuse, baking bread and trying to hide out from King Franz Ferdinand or something. Pretty amazing story. I think his name was Marco Polo or Marco Morrison or something. He had a hit with «Return Of The Marco» in the 1990s. So now you know.
What to get: $ 2.50 loaf of bread
What else: Delicious, and I don’t just mean the bread
They only really sell one thing here. Loaves of fresh Italian bread for $ 2.50. They’re absolutely delicious. If you like bread and you ever find yourself in Syracuse, you simply must give one of them a try. They’re open on Saturdays too (which is how I managed to try it), and after I’d stuffed myself with some warm bread, I passed the rest on to housemates who love bread, and they adored and devoured it and said it was one of the best loaves I’ve provided to them. That’s not all I provide to them, I mean, how do you think I pay the rent. But that’s another story.
It’s a real Italian place, open since 1895 (or 1492, what’s the difference, it’s old), and the girl who served me was ridiculously beautiful. She had bright red hair and was so friendly that I almost bought 2 loaves from her. Then I realized that I already had a loaf down my pants and didn’t want to overdo it — with the bread. So I left.
Missed connections: You — girl with bright red dyed hair, sold me bread.
Me: Guy you don’t remember who bought bread.
Message: Er… Your yeast tastes so good, it’s infectious.

The neighborhood is kind of sketchy, but you don’t need to spend a lot of time here. Go inside, order your three loaves of Italian bread to take home, and you are done. The bread is outstanding and was worth taking home from a trip to Syracuse. Good when fresh and also good when toasted later.

my earliest experience here would have been about 1955. the contents seem very much the same. the important difference to me is that the bread has not had a crispy crust like it used to. we moved back to syracuse in 2003 and have been only pacified with the bread here. [ never really satisfied ] i sometimes wonder if they pull the bread out early to save baking expense. another gripe that i have is that they charge the same $ 2.50 for baked bread or dough !!! how does that make sense ???
an education to my taste buds has been focaccia, available here at the pastabilities bakery. if you don’t like that; you either can’t be saved, or you have entirely different taste.
good luck on your own quest…

Locals know it. Out of towners need to find it. Its simply the best Italian bread you will find anywhere in Syracuse. Go in for bread or get a fresh made sandwich that can only compliment the bread. If you missed this place its definitely a loss to being in Syracuse. I personally take a suitcase of the bread with me to wherever im traveling to because family and friends ask for it. «Dont come see us unless you are bringing Columbus Bakery bread». I hear it all the time.

Short review: Great bread! Get your bread here, it’ll be the best bread you’ve ever had. It was for me! Don’t miss out, stop here on your way home from work!

I am so glad we found this place (thanks to Unilocal!). Their bread is so good — the perfect balance of outside crust and inside fluffiness. They only make one kind of bread, but it is the best Italian bread I’ve ever had. It goes great with pasta and meat sauce.
They also sell everything you need to make pizza — fresh pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. The dough is amazing, as is the sauce! We had been getting our pizza dough at the grocery store, but after coming here will never buy any other pizza dough again. It isn’t heavy or too dense and cooks perfectly. (We always cook our pizza on a pizza stone, so I’m not sure how it would be on a regular pan.)
Their prices are super reasonable, which is a bonus! We get a loaf of bread and a pizza kit (dough, sauce, cheese, and pepperoni) for about $ 12.

This bakery is irrefutably an icon in Syracuse. Their bread is consistent, fresh, and flavorful. We usually use it with pasta and red sauce, but it’s great for sandwiches, stale as stuffing, or whatever.
They have pizza kits for $ 10 — you get dough, large tubs of sauce and mozzarella, and a tub of pepperoni. They give you more than enough of everything.
The deli next door is great as well… meats sliced to order with a wide variety, and all sorts of flavorful sandwiches.
We’re lucky to have them. Parking can be a bear, and I really wish Wegmans carried their bread (though they’d never sell their own brand if they did), but it’s fun to stop by anyway.

Unless one is looking for a Jewish bakery, one WILL discover Jim Retzos and staff at Columbus Bakery to consistently provide the best hot fresh bread available anywhere in downtown Syracuse, greater Syracuse, central New York State, all of New York State, all 50 states, France, Italy, China, Germany, Australia, or anywhere else where one can be with one’s feet standing upon this planet of ours.
Now, if they just bade challa, water bagels, and matzoh balls.

Never fails to impress!
I have been coming here for fresh bread my entire life. I come from an Italian background who appreciate the importance of bread with a meal. Every time we have spaghetti and sauce for dinner we always think of Columbus for our bread. I am away in Albany about 75% of the year so over my break I have made sure to get my fill of their bread. It recently came to my attention that they now sell pizza dough! Considering my favorite meal of all time is pizza, I’ve been dying to get my hands on their dough and I have finally had the chance. We ended up buying the pizza kit deal for the heck of it for $ 10 and we were not disappointed. It comes with dough, sauce, cheese and pepperoni. The dough itself is quite amazing. When baked, the dough is soft, easy to chew, and very fresh. I don’t think I’ve ever had a more fresh crust where you can simply bite into it and chew versus pull and tug at it. Their second best ingredient would be the sauce. It’s very thick and heavy on the spices which is what I’m used to growing up with homemade sauce. It has a great flavor and really enhanced the pizza. The pepperoni and mozzarella are standard ingredients, nothing out of the ordinary.
Overall, I will always come back for their bread, both sandwich and loaf, but their dough is a newly added favorite. I can’t wait to try making other foods with it like zeppoli and calzones, but if I’m in the mood for a homemade pizza, $ 10 is a pretty darn good deal!

I have to admit this is the one place I ALWAYS go to when I visit home. The bread is amazing and it is the staple of our Sunday afternoon pasts dinners. I remember as a child my dad making sure we get the Columbus early to we can get a couple of flats a point. The bread price has always been extremely reasonable and for the quality I am surprised it is not costing the customers more.
A+++ if you get to the store early to get your bread you’re almost guaranteed to get what you want. Also if you go later in the day on busy times be prepared to stand in line, but believe me the time in line is always worth it.

This review has no need to be long. This is the best bread I’ve ever eaten. They have one kind of bread. It is white and Italian. If you wanted other varieties of less good bread, go to Wegmans. It is $ 2.50 for a loaf of bread. If you desire any more information, you will probably get a dirty look from the cashier.
Bottom line: Columbus Baking is an institution, you should go and get bread. The sandwiches are probably good, but I haven’t been to that half of the place.

Columbus Bakery makes hands down the best Italian bread in town. The sandwich shop next door is also great, and uses Boar’s Head meats (a rarity in upstate New York). Absolutely the best of the best in Syracuse. Highly recommended.

My grandpa used to work at Learbury’s on the hill behind this bakery. On his lunch break he’d come pick me up (I was 4 and 5) and we’d go buy a loaf of Columbus flat bread, sit on the stairs on the hill behind the bakery and eat salami and ham sandwiches (he pre-​packed the lunchmeat in his lunchbox)… THOSE were the good old days!
This place has been around FOREVER. Nothing has changed in my lifetime (except the owner, who is the grandson of the owner back in the day). By the way the owners are of Greek descent and not Italian, not that it matters, but just a fun fact.
Those who appreciate what a loaf of bread SHOULD be, are the only ones who will appreciate and treasure Columbus Bakery. You won’t find any whole wheat or funky hipster all grain breads here. Just serious, authentic Italian bread. Bread should only have 4 ingredients — FLOUR (no funky malted barley crap flour either), WATER, YEAST, SALT. Columbus’ recipe has been the same for like a hundred years. THAT IS WHAT BREAD IS ALL ABOUT, folks! Rich, crusty, flavorful. Meant to be eaten fresh and lasting only about a day.
Not only that, the ovens… there are only 4 or 5 working gas fired wall ovens in the country like Columbus has. Maybe less. This is the real deal. These are the original ovens that have been baking bread for a hundred years. If you cannot appreciate the history and authenticity of this place, don’t even bother walking in the door. You will NOT have a bakery experience like this anywhere else. You don’t walk into a retail space. You walk in the door and are faced with the ovens, you are IN the bakery itself! Old school, old world. Freaking awesome.
Someone was moaning in an earlier review, only gave 2 stars. Well sir, you need to go find a modern hipster store that caters to your taste because Columbus is not the place for you. It’s the Wegmans and Wonder Breads of the world and other chains that have destroyed the true art of breadmaking!
Now that they have put a deli in next door, it’s even more amazing. «What’s the specialty?» the earlier reviewer asks… again sir, you are ignorant. Boar’s Head is a top quality brand, for one. Second, yes you can ask them to make whatever you want with whatever they have there besides what is on the regular menu. Get a clue, sir.
The «meatball in a heel» sandwich is a full pointy loaf cut in half with the soft insides scooped out then re-​stuffed with the cheese of your choice and SIX MEATBALLS and sauce… what’s not to love about that??! The meatballs are homemade and taste like my gram’s! Get one then go sit in the park across the street and stuff your face until the sauce is dripping all over.
When passing thru the ‘Cuse I’ll bring home 6 – 10 loaves, and when wrapped properly they’ll last a few months in the freezer. Pull em out, warm up and tastes just like the day you bought it.
Yes people, this place is THAT good. You’re getting full one pound loaves that are worth every penny. By the way they still have the same old school cash register. The flatbread alone is worth ten stars. I hope Columbus is around for another hundred years…

After work, I drove to Columbus Bakery and was pleased to find easy street parking. I thought I could run in, grab a loaf and leave. Yes, yes, I would pay for it first. After parking, I walked in to expect a traditional bakery arrangement of a counter, display cases etc… Not here! Open the door and you’ll be in the inner sanctums of a historic relic which is a working bakery. The aroma, the white tiled walls, the old fashioned ovens and wooden shelves with loaves of fresh bread
Despite all the charm, the history, the undeniably seductive aroma, I found the bread to have a crumbly crispy light outer crust and a very soft, light interior. While it was good, I expected a heavenly experience to emerge from those ovens. Well, it’s good but, it is not the mind bending experience that would cause me to wait in line for even 10 minutes for a loaf.
Right next door, Columbus Baking Company’s sandwich and deli shop puts out sandwiches that makes me eat my words and their bread ! I had a freshly made sandwich with my choice of meats, cheese etc… on their home baked sliced bread. The generous, flavorful quality meats, cheese lettuce tomato etc… stacked between their slices of bread was a perfect match. All their bread needed was the company of a delicious pile of thinly sliced meat and I discovered the perfect way to eat their bread. I will wait an hour in line for their bread as long as it is part of one of their wonderful sandwiches !