Real estate development is nothing new in Florida. Case in point: Ybor City, founded in the 1880s at the core of what was then a largely lawless, up-and-coming city called Tampa. Vicente Martinez-Ybor built it. And boy did they ever come?
They came from Italy and Spain, Germany and Cuba to work in the Ybor cigar factories and others. They worked together, played together, got married. Ybor, and with it Tampa, has been a family-run town from the start, a melting pot from the start. And when families broke bread, much of it was Cuban. Generations later, Tampa has largely continued this tradition.
In town is La Segunda Bakery, arguably the most famous – and acclaimed – baker of Cuban bread in the nation. Like its roots, which are inextricably linked with those of Tampa itself, it is family-run and now in its fourth generation. “It’s a thing to be proud of in Tampa,” said Jeff Houck, a native of Tampa, former food writer for the Tampa Tribune, current director of public relations and marketing for Columbia Restaurant Group. “People brag about having La Segunda bread on their menu. It says something about how local you are, how much you care about your ingredients – and the connection makes you part of their family history. ”Tampa-born Stephanie More is literally a part of that story. She married Copeland More, the fourth generation owner / operator of La Segunda. But he was hardly her introduction to the family business. “I came here on a second grade field trip!” Says More, avoiding a title for her job at La Segunda. “I don’t know what it would be,” she chuckles. “I just do what has to be done.”
Just like the three shifts in the bakery, which produce around 18,000 loaves of bread every day (not to mention all the other goodies in the shop), each baked more or less exactly as it was in the days of Juan Moré (later generations would have the accent) founded the Location 1915. Born in Spain, Moré was in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. He learned the baker’s trade, brought her to Tampa, and the rest is history. “Edible history,” says Houck. “In places like La Segunda you can taste it with every bite.”
Visitors to the Ybor location (there is a newer café on Kennedy) will find a place that has barely changed in the last few decades. Take the tour (call ahead to arrange this; it’s free but a minimum order is required – you won’t mind) and you’ll meet staff who are legacies too.
“La Segunda is not just part of the More family. Most of our bakers grew up with it. Your parents and grandparents worked for my husband’s parents and grandparents, ”notes More. “We have an employee who has been working at our counter for 45 years. Her father also worked here. ”The bakers here, she says, are very passionate about what they do. The customers are also connected to the business, for which More, according to More, her family is always grateful. “Customers often tell us that they used to come with their grandmother and that they are now bringing their grandchildren with them,” she says. “We are so proud to be part of their families’ history as well. Maybe they got a rainbow biscuit for every birthday or went here on Sundays to get a Cuban bread. “
These are traditions that endure, says Houck, as does La Segunda’s portrayal of Tampa for exactly what it is: a melting pot. “The customers haven’t changed,” he says. “There’s a rainbow in there. And at lunch you can see people walking out with three dinosaur legs over their shoulders. ”The big loaves are actually three feet long. “You wear them off like a sash at a pageant!”
Certain products that have been carefully introduced over the years may be a little different, but the core of La Segunda – the bread, the guava and cheese pastries, the café con leche, to name a few – are time capsules. “We’re not a Miami-Cuban bakery, although a lot of people who know bread think we are,” explains More. “We are a bakery in Ybor City. We sell cannoli, we sell German chocolate cake. We have always worn these things because they are part of the heritage of Ybor, of Tampa. “
Columbia, founded in 1905, is even older than La Segunda. Together with the Bern Steakhouse, the three are a holy trinity of gourmets, the cornerstone of the city’s family-run food businesses. Columbia doesn’t just use La Segunda bread for its Cuban sandwiches, each table gets a piece. It’s the number one edition of the restaurant. Columbia doesn’t get many bad Yelp reviews, but even when they do, Houck says, “they still say they love the bread.” It’s a very special place, he says. “You won’t find anything like it in any other city. Companies like this have been through World War I, World War II, rationing and pandemics, ”he notes. “They weathered diet trends – low-carb trans fats – big challenges for a business like yours, and there’s a reason they’re still here.”
Ultimately, he and More agree that family matters. “As a company, you make different decisions,” says Houck. “You go in there and see the same woman with her hairnet at the bar for 50 years? That’s a north star in business. It tells you everything is fine. ”And for historians, food or whatever, there is no better way to learn a city’s history than to taste it.
The post The pride of Tampa Bay: Le Segunda Bakery first appeared on Daily Florida Press.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/the-pride-of-tampa-bay-le-segunda-bakery/
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