ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Mariam Zaky starts her day at 5 a.m., gets her kids to school, works a full-time job in supply chain at Raytheon, then heads to the bakery she owns, where she often stays until midnight.
Zaky is the owner of Breadsmith in Oro Valley—a business she bought last November in hopes of making a bigger impact in the community.
“I also work in the supply chain for Raytheon. It’s a lot, right? But I’m here every night,” she said.
The bakery, located at La Cañada and Lambert, isn’t just open during retail hours. It runs 24/7. When the shop closes to walk-in customers, a new shift starts in the kitchen—mixing, shaping, and baking fresh bread for the next day.
“When I knew this bakery was for sale and I lived just down the street, I felt like God was telling me, ‘Here, this is what you need to do,’” Zaky said.
Zaky says she wanted to create something meaningful for her neighbors and her kids.
“I want my kids to see that hard work pays off. That if you work hard, work toward your goals, and do things for the right reasons, it ultimately works out.”
She also hopes they learn something else—about community and compassion.
“I can’t have a huge net impact on the community with such a small little business. But I can do what I can, and everybody else can do what they can—and that’s how we make a big impact.”
At Breadsmith, nothing goes to waste. Zaky donates unsold bread daily to the Bread Ministry and other local organizations, including schools and nonprofits.
“The fact that they’re able to donate it is fabulous—because there are so many people who need it and can use it for something,” said Erin Martin, a regular customer who discovered the bakery earlier this year.
Martin said she keeps coming back because of the homemade quality—and the story behind it.
“You can tell they use real food ingredients in there, which I definitely appreciate,” she said. “Knowing she’s a mom doing all this? It’s incredible.”
Zaky agrees food waste is a problem—and she’s trying to be part of the solution.
“It breaks my heart when we work so hard to make all this bread and then we don’t want to waste it,” Zaky said. “We want it to go somewhere it can get used.”
Despite the long hours and challenges, she says the support from customers—and her team—keeps her going.
“Every day I’m like, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ But I still see the community engagement every day. And I have an amazing team… Just like they push through for me, I need to push through for them.”
The bakery is located at 10355 N La Cañada Dr. in Oro Valley.
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
