Six mornings a week at his new Lawrence bakery, Javier Angeles bakes the breads and pastries his father taught him to make in Mexico.
Angeles Panadería, which launched earlier this month at 1910 Haskell Ave., Suite 2, has long hours — open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
In the early morning, Angeles enacts a family tradition as he mixes flour, yeast, and sugar, then shapes the dough.
“We’ve tried to do it like we do in Mexico,” he said. “We use the same recipes.”
Some popular items include conchas, orejas and galletas, which are Mexican sweet breads, donuts and cookies, respectively. Inside the bakery, there is seating for patrons to savor their baked goods while sipping hot chocolate and coffee.
Angeles and his wife Lucia Cano also make churros fresh by request.
Cano also makes more savory items, such as tamales, chilaquiles, and sopes. Cano’s mother sold savory foods from a food cart in Mexico, and Cano learned how to cook under her guidance.
Angeles said his father never intended for him to take over the family business, which was also called Angeles Panadería, or for him to start his own. He merely wanted to impart the skill of baking.
“He said, ‘You need to know how to make the bread, so come with me.’ And then he (taught) me when I was 10 years old,” Angeles said.
From Hidalgo, Mexico, Angeles and Cano settled in Lawrence 20 years ago. Angeles worked as a sushi chef at Yokohama Sushi for 12 years before it closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angeles and Cano had considered opening their own bakery for years, but the timing never seemed right. Now they are ready to share a touch of Mexico with Lawrence.
“It was very hard to open this little business, but finally we did,” Angeles said. “We like to bring some of our customs here.”
If his father were alive today, he’d be happy knowing his son continued the family legacy of owning a bakery, Angeles said.
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Chansi Long (she/her) reported for The Lawrence Times from July 2022 through August 2023. Read more of her work for the Times here.
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