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Photo by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell. Founder of BiBi Café and Bakery, Fataneh Dowlatshahi (left), is passing the torch to entrepreneur Tcheilly Nunes (right).
1-02-2025 12:20am
Westwood In A Minute: New Year Brings Changes to BiBi Café & Bakery
Darlene Cancell
Editor
The close of 2024 and start to 2025 has ushered in a new chapter of BiBi Café and Bakery, a cornerstone of Westwood's small business community, with the business passing from the hands of founder Fataneh Dowlatshahi to a new owner and operator, Tcheilly Nunes.
To mark the milestone, Nunes held a celebration of Dowlatshahi on the evening of December 31, 2024. Nunes had seemingly invited as large a crowd from the community as could fit inside the eatery's cozy space. With its normal seating and tables removed, the eatery proved to offer a perfect scene for the event, conducive to mingling for the group that attended.
Photo by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell. Tcheilly Nunes (center) reads remarks he has prepared for a toast to Fataneh Dowlatshahi (third from far left), who listens with her husband and pastry chef, each to one side of her, and with her brother (far right).After about a half hour of chatter and refreshments, Nunes led a toast to Dowlatshahi. Nunes praised her for the warmth, joy, and resilience that Dowlatshahi had brought to her business.
"Somehow, you have entrusted me with the legacy that you poured all your heart into," said Nunes with feeling.
Following the toast was the unveiling of a change of decor under new management - a wall which now boasts a collage of framed portraits of "BiBis." In Dowlatshahi's Iranian culture, "BiBi" means "grandmother." At the center of the group of portraits (among which includes Nunes's own BiBis) is the largest one, a portrait of Dowlatshahi herself, the Westwood eatery's original BiBi.
Photo by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell. Tcheilly Nunes (left) and Fataneh Dowlatshahi share a moment in front of the new BiBi portrait wall, which includes a portrait of Dowlatshahi in the center.In unveiling the BiBi portrait wall, to which Nunes plans to add more portraits over time, Nunes provided a few remarks. Dowlatshahi and Pastry Chef Cynthia Highers have been the bones, foundation, and pillars of the business, said Nunes, while adding, "I am humbled by trust you have put in me."
For her part, Dowlatshahi gave heartfelt recognition to Highers, and to Dowlatshahi's husband and brother. "Without these guys, there couldn't be a BiBi here," she said.
Photo by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell. Tcheilly Nunes gives a hug to a neighbor, a special BiBi, whose image appears on BiBi Cafe & Bakery's new portrait wall.Thanks to Tcheilly Nunes and Fataneh Dowlatshahi for sharing their story with Westwood Minute. What change is this new year bringing to your nook of our community? Register to share a comment below, post an article, or contact WestwoodInAMinute@gmail.com with your news to share in 2025!
