Take Saratoga Bagels, for instance. Next month, sourdough is coming. Huang and partner Ted Lam, both of San Jose, center their lives around bagels. While Lam, who bought the Saratoga store eight years ago, runs two other stores with wife Tiffany in Mountain View and on Stevens Creek in San Jose, Huang has managed the Saratoga store since she became a partner five years ago. She and Lam are cousins.
Family is the backbone of their business.
After her accounting classes at DeAnza College, Huang's sister Yansang comes in to run the counter. Fans of doughnuts from the Maple Leaf doughnut shop in Los Gatos will recall May Yen. Family ties notwithstanding, customers need only keep their bagel choices straight, or mull over which kind of bagel sandwich they might enjoy that day. To sip along with them, there are espresso coffees, flavored ice drinks, or the increasingly popular hot chai tea with spices and honey. She and her husband just purchased their first home.