This weekend, Tampa's historic Alessi Bakery throws its own birthday party, and it will require a lot of candles.Alessi has been operating almost continuously since 1912, when Nicolo Alessi, originally from Italy, opened a bakery on Cherry Street and delivered Italian and Cuban bread by horse and wagon. It is as much a part of the fabric of Tampa as Gasparilla or Cuban sandwiches or scachatta (a Sicily-by-way-of-Tampa culinary oddity, cold, pizza-ish bread squares). Come to think of it, four generations of Alessis have sold a whole mess of Cubans and scachatta every Gasparilla.On Saturday and Sunday, Alessi will roll back many prices to those in 1912. What that means for local Italophiles and bakery fans: 39 cent brownies, 49 cent eclairs, 39 cent coconut macaroons and 49 cent guava pastries. Other favorite deli items will be featured on special as well, such as the ever-popular Cuban sandwich for $4.99, deviled crab for $2.99 (like tiny breaded Nerf footballs, only tastier) and $4 discounts on 7-inch cakes.Phil Alessi Jr. said that for years, Alessi (no relation to Alessi Foods) has had just one retail outlet, a deli and bakery with only outdoor seating at 2909 W Cypress St. They took a huge step toward expansion in the 1990s with the opening of a 40,000-square-foot production facility in Drew Park, and when the airport annexed that space in 2008 they moved again and opened a $20 million, 100,000-square-foot manufacturing plant off Waters Avenue in Town 'N Country.Phil said it was his father, Phil Sr., who saw the writing on the wall: Big grocery store chains were developing their own bakeries and putting mom-and-pops out of business. In an if-you-can't-beat-'em move, Alessi partnered with Publix, then Kroger, Fresh Market, other grocers and food-service companies to produce baked goods like miniature fancy pastries and single-serve desserts.Although they opened a couple other cafes along the way, and sell grab-and-go items at Tampa International Airport, it's still the flagship bakery on Cypress that functions as the primary retail outlet. The future for Alessi may include additional expansion: "We're still in growth mode," Alessi said.The price roll-back, "is something neat to do for the community. It brings back a lot of memories of back in the day when my grandfather was running it," Alessi said.Prices at the bakery at 2909 W Cypress St. in Tampa are in effect 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Alessi Bakery invites the community to join the celebration by sharing their bakery stories using the hashtag #MyAlessiStory. In addition to rolling back prices, the bakery will be giving away anniversary T-shirts, and a free cookie for children. Contact Laura Reiley at lreiley@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2293. Follow @lreiley.