Salvadoran-American bakery Belén-Casa de Pan opens in Worcester

WORCESTER ― After almost a year of operating Belén's Baking out of her home, Zaida Melendez is bringing a taste of El Salvador to a brick-and-mortar location with Belén-Casa de Pan.

The bakery is located at 932 Main St., the former space of Acoustic Java. Belén-Casa de Pan celebrated its grand opening Saturday with free samples and gift basket raffles, and a visit from U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern.

"I have all kinds of emotions right now," said Melendez. "I'm nervous, excited and can't believe it's actually happening now."

To say it's been a journey for Melendez and her family would be an understatement.

After Melendez made the decision to pursue baking professionally and left her job as a respiratory therapist last summer, she has been embracing the life of an entrepreneur, running pop-ups at farmers markets, community events and being a regular at the Worcester Food Hub, while searching for a place that Belén's Baking could call home.

Initially, plans had been made to open the bakery in the city on Park Avenue, but those fell through in December due to the prohibitive cost of remodeling. The location originally housed a locksmith and would have had to have been built from the ground up, Melendez said.

"Once the architect drew up the plans, things kept popping up and the cost skyrocketed," she said, "and was going to take years to get that building where it needed to be."

Serendipitously, just as the door closed on Park Avenue, another one opened when the Small Business Development Center at Clark University reached out to say the owner of Acoustic Java was looking for someone to take over his space, as he was planning to focus more on wholesale coffee.

"This practically fell in my lap," said Melendez. "It’s a great little spot and definitely in my budget."

The transition from coffee shop to bakery was much smoother, she said. Melendez added she only needed a bigger oven, commercial mixer and display cases.

Belén-Casa de Pan will continue selling Acoustic Java coffee, with Melendez and her daughter having taken an eight-hour barista class to learn how to properly serve the lattes that customers have come to love.

Additionally, two of the employees from Acoustic Java will be staying on.

"My husband and older daughter have been my biggest supporters," said Melendez, with the family putting in 13- to 14-hour days to get the bakery ready for opening.

Melendez said she hasn't had time to bake, take any orders or do pop-ups for the last month and a half, with preparations being a full-time job.

After all this time, Melendez said she is excited to get back to doing what she loves.

"I told my daughter that I better get back to baking or I’m going to get rusty," she said.

To start, Belén-Casa de Pan hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Salvadoran bakery Belen-Casa de Pan opens at former Acoustic Java site