Italian immigrant Giglio Gai opened New Home bakery at 20th Avenue South and South Jackson Street in 1931, selling French bread baked in a brick oven. The family business became Gai's Seattle French Baking in 1941, and was the top specialty-bread baker in the state. After brothers Phil and Henry Gai took charge in the 1970s and 80s, Gai's diversified from supplying restaurants to baking buns for McDonald’s, Burger King, and other fast-food chains. Franz Bakery in Seattle acquired Gai's Seattle French baking Company in 1996.

This photo shows baker Tom Larkin dropping oatmeal flakes onto bread dough at Gai's bakery.

Caption information source: Phil Gai obituary at http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-baking-legend-phil-gai-dies
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.