SAN ANTONIO — In the heart of downtown is a bustling cafe with some of the most unique pastries you will find in San Antonio.
La Panaderia, started by brothers Jose and David Caceres, attracts huge crowds with its high quality breads and pan dulce.
The brothers started the chain at a Farmer's Market and it quickly grew into a thriving business model. There are now two locations, one on Broadway and one on Houston Street, and the brothers are planning to open a third location.
David Caceres says they were inspired to open a business by their mother.
"My mother created an industrial business back in Mexico, where she supplies a big chain of restaurants that were owned by Walmart back in Mexico City. So, she created this industrial business. And she passed away back in 1999 from cancer," Caceres said. "From that point, my brother and I decided to keep going with the business. But, we always had dreams to create our own brand."
It's hard to miss the long lines and huge crowds at both of their locations. Caceres credits his success to a level of quality that is not seen elsewhere in San Antonio.
"I think the idea that it was a fresh product at first. We had this idea of people in San Antonio, that when they think of pan dulce, they think it was like a cheap thing," Caceres said. "But, we wanted to change that, there is a quality of the product, it was the variety that we were showing and it was different and that attracted people."
We asked Caceres what exactly makes his baked goods so irresistable.
"The first thing is because we use butter, we use European butter, we use the highest standard of quality for butter, that’s the first step, But from there, there are so many things that have to be done, all the ingredients have to be fresh, we all work with organic, fresh ingredients, and mostly the techniques, the influence we have from Mexico City."
The brothers also use a unique, 48-hour fermentation process to give the breads and other baked goods a distinctive taste. That labor of love, Caceres says, shows in all of their products.
"Everything that we bake takes time. Our process takes 48 hours for everything that we bake and sometimes it takes 100 hours."
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