History With Quezon City Oldest Bakery!

Quezon City celebrated their 75th anniversary last year, and the oldest bakery in the city also celebrated its diamond anniversary as well. Kamuning Bakery located along Judge Jimenez street and still has the original pugon that created countless breads that spanned decades. Under the new ownership of Wilson Lee Flores, businessman and writer, he kept the brand alive with an addition of the cafe and soon a chicken restaurant beside each other. 

And with the bakery still open to serve the rare Pan de Suelo, it also aims to revive lost bread favorites that modern bakery have forgotten or have never tried to bake. And with patrons still  flock to the bakery to taste the unique breads, spreads and probably also take some time to dine in their cafe.
 

History

Kamuning Bakery opened in late 1939 as the first bakery in the newly-established Quezon City upon the invitation of President Manuel L. Quezon’s friend and adviser the newspaper tycoon Don Alejandro Roces. It opened in what is now called Barangay Kamuning, the city’s oldest community and once planted with flowering kamuning trees. Kamuning Bakery founders were Atty. Leticia “Letty” Bonifacio Javier (whose parents Miguel and Jovita operated pre-war Manila’s renown Los Baños Bakery in Singalong) and her husband Marcelo Javier Sr.

Letty’s father, husband and a brother-in-law were military officers who became World War II heroes, they died fighting the Japanese military invaders. Letty raised three small kids on her own by running the bakery with integrity, good service and excellent breads. She passed away two decades ago and the bakery still operated despite the rise of many modern and bigger competitors.

Revival and innovations

Realty entrepreneur, 3-time Palanca award-winning writer and 12-time CMMA award-winning columnist, foodie and history enthusiast Wilson Lee Flores first read about Kamuning Bakery from newspaper columns of his Ateneo college paper Guidon’s

moderator the late top food critic Dr. Doreen G. Fernandez. He also read about it in other publications, including the Palayok coffeetable book of Dr. Doreen Fernandez. He loves the traditional pugon-baked, no-preservatives and no-additives breads of Kamuning Bakery.

Wilson Lee Flores wanted to save Kamuning Bakery from obsolescence, so he invested in and revived the bakery in December 2013. He spent 2014 rehabilitating the bakery, and Quezon City honored the revived Kamuning Bakery on October 12, 2014 with its highest “Manuel L. Quezon Gawad Parangal Award” at the Araneta Coliseum.

He asked an old tenant to cut short their lease contract of the bakery’s former old café which was then a dental clinic already, so he restored and reopened it as Kamuning Bakery Cafe on March 20, 2015.

At another space the old owners used to lease out to a printing shop, Wilson Lee Flores also asked that the lease contract be cut short, so he’s planning another casual restaurant to soon open there beside Kamuning Bakery as a pugon chicken and pugon pizza resto utilizing the rehabilitated second pugon oven. All pugon chicken customers shall get free pugon-baked pandesal breads.

Despite the rise of bakery chains, groceries with gas or electric ovens and industrial bakeries or multinational giants, 76-year-old Kamuning Bakery still continues to serve loyal clientele and its niche market with its artisanal, high-quality and pugon-style baked products.

Kamuning Bakery makes artisanal breads, cookies and cakes based on recipes and practices passed on from generation to generation. Built in late 1939, the same wood-fired brick oven (more known as “pugon”) continues to bake traditional bestsellers, two of which are the pan de sal and pan de suelo (a registered trademark of the bakery).

Kamuning Bakery Cafe is more than just a bakery. It is a cherished and well-preserved tradition. It is history made alive with quality products and sincere friendly service.

Kamuning Bakery Cafe is located at No. 43 Judge Jimenez Street corner K-1st Street, near Kamuning Road, Quezon City, Metro Manila, The Philippines

Telephone numbers: 7945045, 9292216

Office Tels: 4112311, 3326066, 4151692, 4126685 Telefax: 4126685

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