Yonkers’ La Piñata Bakery finds success by sticking to Mexican roots
News 12s Nadia Galindo got an inside look at La Piñata Bakery, a Yonkers establishment that is sticking to it’s Mexican roots.
News 12's Nadia Galindo got an inside look at La Piñata Bakery, a Yonkers establishment that is sticking to it’s Mexican roots.
Pan dulce starts the way most bread starts – the dough is kneaded, formed into balls by hand before being placed in an oven to bake.
"It has the cinnamon, orange – so when you bake it, all the flavors come out," said Roberto Espiritu, co-owner of La Piñata Bakery.
Espiritu said pan dulce, which translates to sweet bread, is a top seller at La Piñata Bakery.
"You can get different colors, different shapes," he explained.
Espiritu started the bakery with his wife Cecilia Zuniga and her parents back in 1992 after emigrating from Mexico. He said at that time, pan dulce was hard to come by.
Zuniga said they make a variety of pan dulce with unique names like nube, which translates to clouds, and pan de muerto, which is a typical bread popular on Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
The most popular pan dulce in Mexican culture is the concha, named for its resemblance to a shell.
Zuniga said customers line up for this bread that brings nostalgia to immigrants craving a taste of home.
"You always find it at the table in the morning for breakfast," she said. "If you get together with family, bread is on the table."
Sticking to their roots has led to success at La Piñata Bakery.
"Right now we employ about 16 to 20 people so we have grown a lot," said Zuniga.
The business has blossomed from a modest store front to a full-service bakery, offering a variety of tres leches cakes, pastries and much more.
"It's a joy and it’s a pride and we are grateful that we have had the support from the community," said Zuniga.
La Piñata Bakery is proof, heritage is not only a word, it's something you can taste, if you have the right recipe.
