Why a family-run bakery in Fresno doesn’t fear Randy’s Donuts opening next door
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Lodéi Bakery & Cafe is an Armenian family-owned bakery and cafe in Fresno.
- The business serves pirozhki, elaborate pastries, sandwiches and various coffee drinks.
- High-profile Randy’s Donuts will open next door, but Lodéi owners are welcoming them.
Fresnans have been antsy for Randy’s Donuts to open at the corner of Palm and Bullard avenues ever since news broke that it was coming 2.5 years ago.
But there’s another bakery right next door that thousands of people drive past daily without realizing it’s there. And it couldn’t be more different than the famous Southern California-based donut shop.
Lodéi Bakery & Cafe is a little lunch and dessert spot owned by an Armenian family. Open less than a year, it’s tucked away in a corner behind the car wash, right next to the Omnia Event Venue.
The bakery is run by the Keymetlyan family — mom, dad and their three children in their teens and 20s. Lodéi (pronounced “Lo-DAY”) is named after a village in Latvia where Asatur Keymetlyan was born when his father was working there.
The family from Armenia serves some favorites from their homeland. Such as the pirozhki (fried dough filled with ground beef, potato or cheese) that is served hot at 11 a.m. daily. And Armenian coffee isn’t on the menu, but they’ll serve it to you if you ask.
But mostly there is an array of elaborate pastries: eclairs, cakes, colorful macarons and other desserts, along with sandwiches.
Lodéi vs. Randy’s?
Lodéi is literally in the shadow of Randy’s Donuts.
Randy’s is famous for its giant donut sign atop its locations and appearing in numerous movies and TV shows, such as “Iron Man 2.” It has about 50 locations worldwide and people lined up in the dark for its Clovis opening.
Randy’s has two locations open in the area — one on Shaw Avenue in Clovis and another on Shaw across from Fresno State — but a representative said it doesn’t have any update on when it will open at Palm and Bullard avenues.
While it might seem like such a heavy hitter opening next door would be a business killer for a little, family-run bakery, Lodéi’s owners say they aren’t worried.
“We’re not bothered by it at all,” said Arpi Keymetlyan, 17, a senior at Clovis North High School and daughter of the owners.
In fact, they wish Randy’s would hurry up and open. And not just because Arpi wants to try their donuts.
“No one knows about us,” said her mom, Piruza Keymetlyan.
Lodéi is tucked into a back corner, hidden from the street by the car wash and overshadowed by the way the Omnia Event Venue juts out into the parking lot.
That part of the parking lot doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic, said Arpi, and she’s hopeful that people coming to Randy’s will discover them as well.
“It’s different things,” she said. “They have their thing. We have ours.”
What’s on the menu?
Lodéi has salads and sandwiches served on bread or croissants. The family plans to start selling Mediterranean lunchtime to-go boxes soon.
And there are all kinds of coffee drinks, from cold brew to espresso and matcha lattes.
But the desserts are what catches the eye here.
There are delicate macarons — the French sandwich cookies — in the shape of Easter eggs or hearts on Valentine’s Day. A popular seller is the multi-layered honey cake, which tastes like a fairy godmother turned honey graham crackers into a sophisticated dessert. And there are numerous creative eclairs, including a pistachio-raspberry version with a pale green frosting.
It’s all made by Piruza, the matriarch of the family, and her assistants.
You can get the food to go, or sit in the dining room, which is something of a quiet, seafoam green-painted oasis.
But this is hardly a David and Goliath story.
The Keymetlyans also co-own the Omnia Event Venue next door. The business — in the former Tang Yuan Chinese seafood spot — is co-owned with Sarkis Semirdjian. It was inspired by the big Armenian family’s need for a spot for wedding receptions, birthdays and other family or business events. It seats up to 400.
The bakery and the event venue share a huge kitchen, and Piruza does the cooking for both.
She’s camera shy (so is the rest of the family, except for the social media savvy Arpi) but she’s got the cooking chops to run the food side of both businesses.
“Every ounce of food that you’ll get from the venue, she makes herself,” said her daughter. “It’s not as much of a job, it’s a hobby because she loves it so much.”
Her mom didn’t go to culinary school, but took all sorts of classes in Armenia, including one carving class on “how to make an apple look like a giraffe.”
Piruza loved to cook and bake so much that her husband surprised her by building her a lahmajoun shop. It sold the flatbread topped with ground beef sometimes called Armenian pizza.
The family came to the U.S. looking for a better life.
That included a top education for son Hakob, 25, who went to Rutgers University and is now a data analyst. (”My brother’s kinda like a walking genius,” said Arpi.)
Each member of the family has a hand in the bakery. Dad Asatur, who is in construction, designed and built out the interior of the event center himself. He handles the business side of things for both enterprises.
Hakob helped launch the cake-selling business that evolved into the bakery when they first started. Sister Mari, 20, a student at Clovis Community College about to transfer to UC Davis, handles a lot of the social media. And Arpi talks to the public.
“We all help out whenever we can,” Arpi said.
Details: Lodéi Bakery & Cafe is at 770 W. Bullard Ave. Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Why a family-run bakery in Fresno doesn’t fear Randy’s Donuts opening next door."
