Many communities have independently run bakeries that offer everything from yeast rolls to wedding cakes. These bakeries often become a favorite place to buy cakes for birthday, anniversary, or baby reveal parties. In Brandon, Florida, once such bakery, Moreno Bakery, has been serving their community for over 10 years.
Who Owns Moreno Bakery?
The bakery is an independent bakery owned and operated by the founders, Jose and Susan Moreno. Jose is a Cuban immigrant who grew up helping his grandfather make Cuban bread and other baked goods at his grandfather’s bakery, the Golden Eagle Bakery.
Moreno was able to escape Cuba and went to the United States in a boat with eight adults and two children. However, he soon went back because he couldn’t seek residency due to their boat breaking down. They were rescued by the Coast Guard, but only Cuban immigrants who reached shore could seek permanent residency.
Fortunately, he did return and took a job in a bakery in Ybor City, which is in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. He soon met his wife, Susan, and they were married in 2000. Then, in 2008, they opened their bakery in Ybor City. It quickly grew, so they found a bigger location in Brandon
Bakery Services
Along with providing several types of baked goods, including Cuban bread, Moreno’s also has a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, and they have catering services. Their business offers a host of Cuban foods and baked goods, along with traditional American fare.
Bakery Menu
Their baked goods offerings are extensive as they make:
- Doughnuts
- Danish
- Cookies
- Pies
- Cakes
- Cupcakes
- Pastries
- Bread
They also offer some gluten-free options like almond sticks, almond horns, Flan de Queso, Macaroons, and brownies.
Pies
They make many of their items fresh every day, such as pie squares and tarts. They offer 15 flavors of pies, but many of them are only available when the fruit is in season. Among the choices are:
- Apple
- Blueberry
- Cherry
- Chocolate Chess
- Coconut Meringue
- Dutch Apple
- Key Lime
- Kentucky Derby
- Pecan
- Sweet Potato
Their pies are available in both five and nine-inch sizes, and the nine-inch pies are available for special orders. Pie toppings include Dutch, iced, plain, un-iced, and lattice, which is $5 more per item.
Pie Pricing
The smaller pies, which are five-inches, are all the same price at $6 each. However, the nine-inch pies run different prices. Basic pies like apple, pumpkin, or Dutch apple are $12 each. The chocolate chess, Kentucky Derby, sweet potato and pecan pies at $14. Cream, citrus flavors, and cherry pies are $15.
Cakes
The bakery offers individual slices of their cakes every day and some of their eight-inch cakes on a limited basis. Customers can place special orders for larger or miniature versions of their cakes as well. The cake flavors they have every day are:
- Almond Joy BonBon
- Chocolate BonBon
- Mocha BonBon
- Bacardi Rum Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Cheesecake
- Chocolate Cheesecake
- Guava Swirl Cheesecake
- Flan de Queso
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
The chocolate chip cookie cake is a 12” cake that sells for $30. The slices are available for $3.50 each, except for flavored cheesecake slices, which are $3.75
The bakery also offers an assortment of other flavors that may be available, or customers can place orders for them. They have basic flavors, which include:
- Chocolate
- Coconut
- Lemon
- Marble
- Sponge
- Vanilla
They offer several specialty cake flavors from Apple Spice to Red Velvet to Cannoli cake. The Moreno Bakery also offers several icing flavors, including specialty ones, like:
- Whipped Cream
- Vanilla Butter Cream
- Amaretto Butter Cream
- Lemon Butter Cream
- Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream
- Cream Cheese
Several more flavors are available to order on any of the cakes. If you go to their main website and look under bakery menu, then cakes, you will find descriptions of many of their specialty cake flavors, as well as complete lists of the cake flavors they sell.
Cake Sizes and Prices
Eight-inch round cakes, which can serve up to 14 people, start at $30. The bakery also makes sheet cakes, with a quarter-size sheet cake, which feeds 25 to 30 people, starting at $45. Half-size sheet cakes, which serve 45 to 55 people, start at $75. A full sheet cake, capable of serving 80 to 100 people starts at $125.
Some of their cake flavors may have additional costs, fresh fruit and liquor syrups may also add to the cost of a cake. The bakery will also custom decorate or add specialty decorations for an additional charge.
Moreno’s also makes wedding cakes, so you will need to contact Susan at the bakery to discuss what types and sizes they offer.
Additional Bakery Items
Along with pies and cakes, Moreno’s also makes cupcakes, pastries, cookies, and bread. Their main website lists all their bakery items, the sizes, and the costs.
Food Menu
The bakery also offers breakfast, lunch and dinner menus during the time they are open. While these items can be ordered to go, the location they moved to in 2013 has 50 seats for dining in the bakery. Their breakfast menu offers:
- Breakfast Egg Sandwiches
- Butter Tostada
- Cheese Tostada
- Meat and Cheese Tostada
- Croissants
- Babka
- Scones
- Spanish Empanadas
The Tampa Bay area is culturally diverse with Spanish, Cuban, Russian, Polish, Italian, and people of other heritages from all over the world. The bakery offers many items influenced by these countries, including Polish Babka cake and Spanish empanadas.
Lunch and Dinner Menus
The bakery offers the same lunch and dinner menus every day, except for the soup. Their soups change daily, so you can call the bakery to find out which soup is available for the day. Aside from soup, Moreno’s offers salads, an a la carte menu, beef, pork, seafood, and sandwiches.
As they are experts at making Cuban bread, they also offer Cuban sandwiches for lunch or dinner. Most of their sandwiches are 9” long and are available on several types of bread, including:
- Cuban
- Media Noche bread, which is a sweet egg bread.
- Hoagie roll
- Rye
- Wheat
- Pumpernickel Bucket bread
Some of their specialty sandwiches include:
- Cuban
- Pork
- Philly-style Steak
- Ropa Vieja
- Italian BLT
- Portuguese
- Pastrami
- Fish or Shrimp Po’boys
Among some of their lunch and dinner items, they serve
- Shrimp
- Fish
- Lamb Shank
- Picadillo
- Oxtail
- Pot Roast
Their ala carte items include lasagna, vegetarian empanadas, ham croquetas, meat pies, deviled crab, and stuffed potatoes. A complete menu of their available food items is on their main website under “Food Menu.”
Food Menu Pricing
While the prices vary on many of their items, if you want a sandwich, they usually run from $5 to $12, depending on what’s in the sandwich. A 9” Cuban sandwich is $6.50, but a 9” Philly Steak is $10. Most salads are $7.50, but you can get potato or chicken salad for $4.50 and a Pesto Caprese Pasta Salad for $5. Custom orders for salads require a day’s notice.
The soups are available in small, medium and large, with most flavors available for $4, $6, and $12. However, the Seafood Chowder and Gumbo sell for $4.50, $7 and $14.
The lunch and dinner menus are available in combinations that include pork or chicken with two sides for $10. However, you can purchase just the entrees, which include:
- Moreno Chicken with Yellow Rice
- Chicken Marsala
- Roast Pork
- Chicken Tenders
The entrees come in small for $4.50 or $5, medium for $7 or $10 or large for $14 or $20. The price differences depend on the type of entrée you buy. For example, if the dish is primarily rice, such as their fried rice or Moreno Chicken with Yellow Rice, then the prices will be lower.
The entrees with Beef and Seafood also come in combinations with two sides and include:
- Oxtail
- Lamb Shank
- Shrimp
- Beef Stew
The combinations cost $12.50, except for the oxtail, which is $15. The small entrees are $8, the medium entrees are $16, except for the oxtail, which is $12, and the large ones are $32, except those with shrimp, which are $24. The lamb is sold by the shank, which is $8 each, and the fried fish is sold by the filet, which is $6 each.
Catering Menu
Along with meals to go or available for dine-in service, Moreno’s also has a catering menu. Their menu includes:
- Entrees – Lasagna, Chicken Marsala, Shrimp Enchilado, Oxtail, etc.
- Finger Foods
- Sandwich Trays
- Salads
- Sides
- Cookie Trays
- Pastry Trays
- Cakes
The prices for their catering menu are on their website, although the cake prices are the same as above. Contact the bakery for your event, and they can help you figure out how much food you will need. There is also an online option for ordering cakes and cupcakes from Moreno’s.
Moreno’s Bakery has hundreds of customers per day buying everything from hot coffee in the morning to cakes for a special occasion to dinner. It has become a popular spot for people who live in Brandon and communities surrounding it.
They offer a varied menu of baked goods and food that tourists and new residents are discovering every day.
