'Old-Fashioned' Moreno Bakery Wows With Grand Reopening

The Moreno Bakery in Brandon, opened five years ago next to Romano's Greek Restaurant, is back in business after a days-old shutdown thanks to its Aug. 5 reopening in a much larger space just up the road, next door to Skateland on Robertson Street.

In a shopping center with State Road 60 frontage, at 737 West Brandon Blvd., Jose and Susan Moreno have opened up shop in a 10,000 square-foot space with cases and cases of sweets, fresh coffee, freshly baked breads and their highly acclaimed Cuban sandwiches. Hot food is to come and there is ample room for sit-down dining.

"I love it, it's great," said longtime customer Patti Harper, at Moreno Bakery on Aug. 5. "It's much bigger and they needed a place to sit down. If you want some old-fashioned baked goods that are top quality, this is the place you should come."

Harper made her comments in the large center space surrounded by showcases of treats, including cookies, cupcakes, croissants, custards, parfaits, tarts, turnovers, pies, pastries, cakes, breads, puddings, rugelach and so much.

"Everything is good here, you can't go wrong," Harper said. "And it's reasonably priced for the quality of what you're getting.

The Morenos, at Moreno Bakery on Facebook, have been preparing their customers for the transition from the 2,400- square-foot storefront they occupied for five years to a new space of some 10,000 square feet, just "100 yards closer to Kings Avenue and still off Robertson [Street]."

Billed as a "Cuban restaurant," serving breakfast and brunch, the Morenos announced Sunday, Aug. 4, that they would be seeing "everybody in the morning," for the grand reopening, to which 226 Facebook fans responded with a "like" and 53 people took time to comment.

"Great, can't wait to see those cases full of beautiful deliciousness. And the smell of fresh baked bread, brings me back memories of home," wrote one poster.

"Yes, this is in Brandon," wrote another. "Best bakery in the Tampa area."

Jose Moreno took a quick break from serving customers Aug. 5 to talk about the grand reopening, which he said attracted a crowd of customers that exceeded his family's expectations.

"I'm very surprised," by the large turnout, Moreno said. "I was expecting less people. The Brandon community never lets me down."

Moreno traces his love of baking back to his grandfather's baker in Cuba, the Gold Eagle. "My mother worked in the office and after school I would go to the bakery," he said.

That he now loves his own bakery with as great — if not a greater — passion is no surprise to Moreno.

"The time flies when I'm here, I don't feel like I'm working," he said. "When I go on vacation I get sad. If I don't do this, I go crazy, I don't feel happy. Everything's missing when I don't do this."

"This" involves keeping stocked rows upon rows of bakery showcase shelves, not to mention the racks for freshly baked breads and the Cuban sandwiches that need to be pressed and the cups of coffee, in a wide variety of flavors, that need to be filled.

Coming soon will be hot meals as well.

"I want to provide Tampa Cuban food," such as caldo callego and Spanish bean soup, Moreno said. "You're coming from the north, you want to eat what the people in Tampa are eating. We want to do that in Brandon."

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