It is a dynamic change of life for Artemis Vourakis from being a legal secretary to opening a Greek Bakery and Café at the corner of East Yosemite and Cottage avenues in Manteca.  Vourakis’ brother Hercules is opening a modern car wash on the site late in July or early August.

She had worked for AKF Development for the last 10 years before she gave thought to opening the “Tony & Mrs. K’s Bakery-Café,” she said.

Retired Manteca pharmacist Ted Poulos and his wife Antoinette were on hand to sample the tasty Greek pastries Thursday morning. They are longtime friends of the Vourakis family from the rural Austin Road farming community.

Their two-story home was on the east side of Austin Road just south of Calla School where Effie Murphy had been born earlier – wife of the longtime owner and publisher of the Manteca Bulletin George Murphy.

“He used to work for my father Tony,” she said of Poulos.  “He took him out with him to irrigate when he was about 13 to help irrigate his 20 acres of grapes near Mariposa Road.  My dad woke up in the middle of the night and remembered Ted was still out their irrigating – forgetting to bring him home.”

Laughing as she leaned on a counter, Artemis quipped, “This is retirement and I just got my Medicare card today.  This is crazy!”

She recalled that her parents had bought the property back in the ‘60s and leased it to the Indy Car Wash owners.  When the lease was up she and her brother decided they wanted to make use of the property themselves with the Greek Bakery-Café and car wash.

The soft opening for the eatery is set to continue for about 10 days offering their specialties in fresh, baked pastries, croissants and Danish muffins.  Greek spinach and cheese pies are on the menu with freshly made sandwiches with salads and homemade soups.

“I’m buying locally so I can use fruits and vegetables from valley farms,” Artemis said.

She noted that her dad had passed away at 106 and she sees longevity in her family.  The renovated car wash system has all new equipment with a longer tunnel for better washes, she added. 

Hours for the bakery and café will be 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 to 8 on Saturdays and Sundays.