Blackmarket Bakery owner Rachel Klemek has signed a lease to open a bakery in the Santora Building at 211 N. Broadway in downtown Santa Ana, in a space that was previously a clothing store, according to the OC Weekly.
While the Blackmarket Bakery in Costa Mesa has very good Yelp reviews, the new Santa Ana location has upset a few local artists, who contacted me to complain about Blackmarket’s logo, which resembles the Islamic Jihad flag used by terrorists all over the world (see pictures below).
Many are familiar with what some call “the black flags of jihad” flown by Islamic extremists from Jabhat al-Nusra to Al Qaeda. The flags vary in appearance, but most share a similar theme: they typically have white writing on a black flag, and depict the shehada, or profession of faith that there is no god but god, and Muhammad is his messenger, according to The Blaze.
You would think that Klemek would be more sensitive to this issue as her surname is Polish. The Polish army led the defeat of the Jihadi Ottomans at Vienna in 1683, according to the History of Jihad. The Ottoman Turks invaded Eastern Europe and killed and enslaved thousands of Europeans, including Poles, during the Turkish Ottoman war against the Byzantine Empire.
There are still vestiges of those ancient Turkish invasions all over Eastern Europe, where pockets of Muslim communities still exist today, such as the Chechnyans in Russia and the Bosnian Muslims.
And the black Islamic Jihad flag has been featured recently as the backdrop during beheading of innocent people in Iraq, including an American journalist, by the ISIS Jihad army.
Blackmarket’s products include “Cakes made from scratch with flavors ranging from the exotic to the nostalgic. Florentines brimming with almonds, cranberries & candied ginger. All butter croissants enclosing a blast of Belgian dark chocolate,” according to their Facebook page.
They plan to sell pan dulce at the new Santa Ana location. Do they realize that Spain, which settled Mexico, was conquered by Moorish Jihadists for over 800 years? Spanish Christian knights, led by El Cid, eventually overthrew their Islamic overlords. But the lessons they learned from their Muslim conquerors may well have led to the conquering of the Native Americans in Latin America. The descendants of those natives created pan dulce, which was also inspired by the French, who briefly occupied Mexico but were defeated in 1862. But the Spanish were the ones who originally introduced wheat flour to the people of Mexico.
One must wonder if the Blackmarket Bakery intends to run a clean restaurant in Santa Ana given their history of health violations. Their Costa Mesa location was most recently inspected on March 25, 2014. That was a re-inspection and they were cleared but they racked up quite a few health violations when they were previously inspected on February 20, 2014. Here are the health violations that were noted during that inspection:
| Lack of/Unsanitary/Condition Walls/Floors/Ceilings | |
| Water Temp (100F-119F)/Wash Temp <100F/Cross Con | |
| Facility not Fully Enclosed/Open Door/Air Curtain | |
| Last Report Unavailable/Consumer Access | |
| Inappropriate Sanitizer Level/ Lack of Test Strips | |
| Unsanitary Equipment/Utensil/Linen/Plumbing | |
| Lack of Food Protection Manager Certificate |
Just goes to show that most of the so-called artists in DTSA are psychotic. Not even a vague resemblance. I do, however, see the resemblance to the pirate flag it was obviously meant to resemble.
The crossed sword motif does show up in pirate flags as well. But the use of those swords in white paint on a black background does resemble the Jihad flag. The question then is intent. And I agree with you that most likely the owner of this hipster bakery was trying to channel pirates not Islamic terrorists.
I guess it’s all in the perspective. The Swiss are off-site from the Islamic swords and they are sabres rather than scimitars. Pretty distant comparison.
Jeff, you must be sociopathic and blind. There is a very obvious resemblance to the jihad flags of the radical Islamists. Considering that you most likely follow current events being a conscientious American, you must be familiar with the fact that the U.S. is supposedly at war with the new “911” level threat that is I.S.I.S.
Even the local group that sponsors the “Day of the Dead” festival has strict guidelines to make sure that calavera art (skull-skeleton) art is not polluted with violent symbols and props that degrade the culture and honoring of the deceased. R.I.P Kim Pham, R.I.P. journalist Folley
Mateo, maybe you should take a closer look at the swords in the bakery logo. They are sabres, as pirates carried and the Islamic flag shows scimitars which would be in keeping with their heritage. The “cake” on the logo was obviously meant to abstractedly resemble a skull as on a pirate flag. The only other thing on the Islamic flag is writing that I can’t translate. The only writing on the log is the name of the bakery.
You can call me sociopathic and blind if you like but at least I take my meds and wear my contacts..
And what is the exact difference between the style of sword? The scimitars are slightly more curved? Slight difference in thickness? The Somalis and Chechnyan rebels use the symbolic iconic flag precisely because they know that they are murderous pirates out to subvert the existing rule by violent jihad. Radical islamists are trying to recruit disenfranchised young latinos as well as blacks and whites in the western civ. So the only people that could possibly be cool with that are the people in the security industry that need constant strife and violence. It makes me sick to have to see it when I walk by and think that people have been brainwashed into accepting this kind of marketing as hip.
Good point about pirates. Why would a bakery want to be associated with killers and rapists? That’s what pirates were.
And how long will it take the local gang bangers to etch their names into it anyway.?
Yeah well, without going into the real history of pirates (look up privateer), I see no correlation here between the logo and any Islamic or jihad flag no matter how vaguely you want to frame it. Shape of the sword is everything as is the cute little play on the skull/cake, if you are trying for a specific effect. Your best bet, Mateo, is to not buy goods from them. That’s your privilege. Mine, just the same, is to buy American and I may just do that when I visit them. The proof is in the pudding….er, eclair.
Jeff, I can care less about their goods! I don’t want to have to look at it there sign if this American Government wants to take us into another bloody war based on the pretext that an American journalist was beheaded by sword or knife wielding radicals.
Santa Ana is plagued with violence. Gentrifiers are suppose to pacify a neighborhood not make a mockery of violence.
“I don’t want to have to look at it there sign if this American Government wants to take us into another bloody war”
Mateo, would you rather have a race / ethnicity war in downtown Santa Ana over a pirate flag style logo?
“I don’t want to have to look at it there sign if this American Government wants to take us into another bloody war”
Mateo, would you rather have a race / ethnicity war in downtown Santa Ana over a pirate flag style logo?
No Cook. This is an ethnicity free observation and unholy crusade to prevent privateers from desensitizing the masses with pricey chocolate dopamine served on platters with the skeletal remains of what was once their own heads.
Oh, well, that explains your view, Mateo. I didn’t know the gentrifier code of conduct requires them to pacify the neighborhood. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
If they are not there to pacify the neighborhood, what are they good for? To rape your wallet by brainwashing you into thinking you should pay twice as much for the same carbs and g.m.o. food that you find in the next neighborhood?
If these privateers can sell non g.m.o. corporate death food then the people of Santa Ana should forgive their lame insensitive marketing.
Agreed.
You are awesome Jeff. Now don’t get fat on death chocolate. Your country needs you.
More importantly, my kids need me (at least for two more years).
You guys are idiots. They’re a local bakery specializing in artisan, fresh, scratch made pastries. They’ve been in business for the last 10 years MAKING DESSERTS. The owner is from North Carolina. Absolutely nothing to do with Jihad, or any religion, denomination, faith, belief. Do your research, bozos. Let the people have cake!