The Spanish Bakery & Café in St. Augustine, Florida, is experiencing a surge in demand for its handmade empanadas, with bakery manager Carol Miller reporting that on busy days, multiple trays can sell out in less than an hour. These empanadas, a staple since the bakery opened in 1965, are a key attraction in the nation's oldest city.
Miller attributes the increased attention to a combination of tourists, word-of-mouth recommendations, and social media buzz, including posts on TikTok and Instagram. Despite the viral popularity, the empanada recipe remains a long-standing tradition for the establishment.
Production Challenges and Solutions
Producing the empanadas entirely by hand, from preparing the dough to shaping each pastry, was a time-consuming process. Miller noted that rolling out 10 trays, which contain 16 empanadas each, could take an entire eight-hour shift. The introduction of a newer rolling machine has significantly reduced this production time to approximately four hours.
The bakery is located in St. Augustine's historic district, and Miller believes its Spanish-influenced offerings resonate with the area's cultural identity. The empanadas are baked rather than fried, a distinction Miller highlights as a healthier option, particularly appealing to visitors during warmer weather.
Appealing to Diverse Palates
Some customers mistakenly assume the empanadas are spicy due to their Spanish origin, Miller said. The bakery aims to make its food accessible to the wide range of visitors exploring St. Augustine. While many visitors seek out the bakery due to online recommendations or media coverage, others, like 12-year-old Alexis Rapchak visiting from Ohio, discover it incidentally while exploring the city.
Rapchak, trying the empanada for the first time, described it as "really good," specifically praising the dough and the filling. The Spanish Bakery & Café continues to serve its traditional baked empanadas, connecting visitors to the city's Spanish heritage.