MORENO BAKERY, INC.
BRANDON, FLORIDA

In Moreno Bakery, the Brandon shop Jose Moreno shares with his wife, Susan, the Cuban-born baker refuses to skip a step in the five-hour traditional process of crafting Cuban bread, with two stages of rest and growth. The painstaking method doesn't even account for the time it takes to harvest and wash palmetto leaves he uses as "veins" to provide a natural break in the bread. "I love doing this," Moreno said. "I love to bake. It's the only thing I know. I'm not even good at cutting my grass." Such passion from Jose and Susan helped the bakery at 906 W Robertson St. blossom from a small operation to a Brandon destination that draws hundreds each day. His grandfather owned the Golden Eagle Bakery, the only one around his Cuban neighborhood, and his mom took care of payroll for the company. In sixth grade, he began stopping by the bakery after school to play with the dough. They opened the bakery on Robertson Street in 2008, and watched the business grow from about a dozen customers a day to more than 300 now and 700 on Christmas Eve. Moreno Bakery customers appreciate the planned expansion. Teresa Boully has been stopping in most weekday mornings during her morning commute for more than two years to enjoy a cup of café con leche. With two entrances, seven bakery cases (instead of four), room for 50 dine-in seats (currently there are none) and three cash registers (instead of one), the bakery will be able to provide faster, better service. Fellow local business owner Ziad Kazbour appreciates the changes. Kazbour, who owns a few local restaurants along with his brothers, has turned to the Moreno Bakery for special occasions like weddings, birthdays and most recently when his son, Tarek, graduated from Strawberry Crest High School. He ordered a cake with the school logo, as well as the University of Tampa logo, where Tarek will attend this fall. "They do a fine job," said Kazbour, a customer for more than four years. "I never hear, 'Hey, we can't do that.' They cater to your needs and that's how to build a business and get repeat business." Susan also is excited to finally have a corner office where she can conduct wedding consultations, pay bills, process payroll, order inventory, and expand the catering and wholesale side of the business. "We are a real, old-fashioned bakery, not a cupcake place," Susan said. While other Tampa bakeries such as La Segunda have become known for supplying Cuban bread to businesses nationwide, Moreno Bakery has simpler aspirations with Cuban bread and a Cuban-American at the heart of the bakery. In Moreno Bakery, the Brandon shop Jose Moreno shares with his wife, Susan, the Cuban-born baker refuses to skip a step in the five-hour traditional process of crafting Cuban bread, with two stages of rest and growth. The painstaking method doesn't even account for the time it takes to harvest and wash palmetto leaves he uses as "veins" to provide a natural break in the bread. "I love doing this," Moreno said. "I love to bake. It's the only thing I know. I'm not even good at cutting my grass." Such passion from Jose and Susan helped the bakery at 906 W Robertson St. blossom from a small operation to a Brandon destination that draws hundreds each day. His grandfather owned the Golden Eagle Bakery, the only one around his Cuban neighborhood, and his mom took care of payroll for the company. In sixth grade, he began stopping by the bakery after school to play with the dough. They opened the bakery on Robertson Street in 2008, and watched the business grow from about a dozen customers a day to more than 300 now and 700 on Christmas Eve. Moreno Bakery customers appreciate the planned expansion. Teresa Boully has been stopping in most weekday mornings during her morning commute for more than two years to enjoy a cup of café con leche. With two entrances, seven bakery cases (instead of four), room for 50 dine-in seats (currently there are none) and three cash registers (instead of one), the bakery will be able to provide faster, better service. Fellow local business owner Ziad Kazbour appreciates the changes. Kazbour, who owns a few local restaurants along with his brothers, has turned to the Moreno Bakery for special occasions like weddings, birthdays and most recently when his son, Tarek, graduated from Strawberry Crest High School. He ordered a cake with the school logo, as well as the University of Tampa logo, where Tarek will attend this fall. "They do a fine job," said Kazbour, a customer for more than four years. "I never hear, 'Hey, we can't do that.' They cater to your needs and that's how to build a business and get repeat business." Susan also is excited to finally have a corner office where she can conduct wedding consultations, pay bills, process payroll, order inventory, and expand the catering and wholesale side of the business. "We are a real, old-fashioned bakery, not a cupcake place," Susan said. While other Tampa bakeries such as La Segunda have become known for supplying Cuban bread to businesses nationwide, Moreno Bakery has simpler aspirations with Cuban bread and a Cuban-American at the heart of the bakery. In Moreno Bakery, the Brandon shop Jose Moreno shares with his wife, Susan, the Cuban-born baker refuses to skip a step in the five-hour traditional process of crafting Cuban bread, with two stages of rest and growth. The painstaking method doesn't even account for the time it takes to harvest and wash palmetto leaves he uses as "veins" to provide a natural break in the bread. "I love doing this," Moreno said. "I love to bake. It's the only thing I know. I'm not even good at cutting my grass." Such passion from Jose and Susan helped the bakery at 906 W Robertson St. blossom from a small operation to a Brandon destination that draws hundreds each day. His grandfather owned the Golden Eagle Bakery, the only one around his Cuban neighborhood, and his mom took care of payroll for the company. In sixth grade, he began stopping by the bakery after school to play with the dough.