Authentic Mexican bakery opens downtown

For new customers struggling to choose, Jose Andres Garcia recommends his concha. The classic plain sweet bread is a staple of bakeries in Mexico, he says.

Garcia was up at 5 a.m. Friday baking concha and a few other types of breads and sweets during a soft opening of his new bakery in downtown Faribault.

For the official grand opening Monday, he’ll have dozens of options ranging from flan to cuernos.

Customers need not be able to pronounce names to order what looks most appetizing to them. In the tradition of the Mexican bakeries in which Garcia learned his craft, guests grab a metal tray and a pair of tongs and pick out what they want to take home.

Jose and his family of helpers say they’re excited to both provide a taste of home for the local Latino community, as well as to share their traditions with the broader community.

“It’s very satisfying making something people enjoy,” Jose said with the help of his wife, Bethsaida Garcia, translating.

Jose is Mexican born and raised and named his Faribault bakery Panaderia Y Pasteleria La Estrella after the one he first smelled and tasted as a young child. In English it means "the star bakery and cake shop.”

Jose moved to another small Mexican village before he landed his first baker apprenticeship at just 12 years old.

By age 15 he was already dreaming of owning his own bakery. God had a hand in helping that dream come true at age 27, he and Bethsaida said. Their faith also was what brought them together.

Bethsaida grew up in Faribault, is a Faribault High School graduate, and a longtime member of the Iglesia Evangelica Cristiana Espiritual church in Faribault. He was on a mission trip with the church to Georgia when she met Jose.

He had come to work at a bakery in Atlanta wanting to experience America for a while. But he didn’t intend to stay, he said. That changed when he met Bethsaida.

After a few years of getting to know each other via long distance, Jose agreed to join Bethsaida in Faribault. They’ve been married since 2019 and have a 3-year-old daughter, Violet. Jose commuted to the south metro to work at a Mexican bakery.

Late last year they found a near ideal spot right in their own town to open Panaderia Y Pasteleria La Estrella.

The space on Central Avenue near Fourth Street NE was formerly a Subway sandwich shop franchise. It needed some sprucing up after sitting empty for several years, but still had some of the kitchen equipment Jose needed for his plans.

“It was an opportunity God put on our laps,” Bethsaida said.

Jose makes all of his breads, pastries, cakes and other desserts from scratch using authentic Mexican recipes, Bethsaida said. She and other family members provide assistance with the less-skill-required aspects of the baking and with running a small business.

Jose said his favorite item to make is cake because he can get creative with ingredients and decoration. Using fruit as a bright decoration is one of his signatures. Customers will be able to buy whole cakes as well as by the slice and he will take orders for custom quinceanera and wedding cakes.

In addition to baked goods, Jose intends to make a few varieties of flan (a custard dessert) and a different daily flavor of atole (a hot milk-based beverage).

Most of his products will sell for $1 to $3, he said.

Jose said he doesn’t have dreams of one day creating a franchise like Subway. Like the independent small bakers in his homeland, he said he’s content with one bakery where he can maintain top-quality goods and personal service.