After 50 years, this beloved Cuban bakery in Miami just closed its doors

For the past five decades, anyone who passed the busy corner of Flagler Street and LeJeune Road in the morning has enjoyed the aroma of pastelitos de guava, croquetas and Cuban bread floating in the air.

That’s where La Rosa Bakery was until it closed two weeks ago, after sending out an invitation to its customers to enjoy their favorite delicacies for the last time.

The walls, painted bright pink like the decoration of the typical Cuban cakes that were made there, now look faded. Tools are on the floor and a single vase with plastic roses sits in one of the empty windows, accentuating the solitude of the place.

“It’s the end of an era,” says the farewell post on the bakery’s Facebook page, where they express their gratitude for being able to serve three generations of Miamians.

The Mayoral brothers — Osvaldo, Osmar, Oliverio, Otelmy and Orfilio — opened La Rosa Bakery in Miami on March 28, 1968. They carried with them the secrets to running a successful bakery from Cuba when they migrated to Miami in 1960. The brothers, who learned the business from their father, Rogelio Mayoral, ran Gran París, located in Artemisa in what used to be the province of Havana but is now the Artemisa province.

Brother Osvaldo and and wife Mercedes Mayoral were the face of the bakery for most of the five decades. They remained in charge of La Rosa Bakery until 2019, when they were 92 and 86 years old.

“My uncle worked there as a baker in the 1970s,” América Blanca wrote at the bottom of the bakery’s farewell post on Facebook. “This place was my family’s neighborhood bakery. Blessings.”

Other fans brought up childhood memories, like Ruth Noemí, who visited the shop in the 1980s. “You also made my wedding cake. Thanks for all the happy memories.”

Another client shared the anecdote that her husband surprised her in 1981 with a cake from La Rosa Bakery to celebrate her daughter’s first birthday. “Three generations later, in 2023, my daughter and granddaughter love this family-run bakery.”

“We take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to our dedicated employees and all who have supported La Rosa Bakery over the years. We are especially grateful to the customers who made La Rosa Bakery a part of their lives and to the community that embraced it as an integral part of Miami history,” read the post on La Rosa’s Facebook.

La Rosa Bakery got plenty of attention in South Florida over the years. It was featured on Univision’s Despierta América; included in the Miami New Times list Miami’s Ten Best Cupcakes; featured in el Nuevo Herald and the Miami Herald, where it was captured by the lens of photographer Carlos “C.M” Guerrero, who also included it in author Giselle Balido’s book “CubanTime, A Celebration of Cuban Life in America,” which has a prologue by Celia Cruz.

Aside from the typical Cuban bakery favorites, La Rosa was known for its meringues, little white treats that will ruin the most disciplined diet, which they sold in a packet to keep your sugar high going all day.

La Rosa was also known for their pastelitos de salchichas, French sandwiches and mini sandwiches on sliced bread, which until the mid-1990s were a mainstay on the menu at parties in Miami. Those little sandwiches may have become passé, but many still long for their return (including this writer).

The end of the message on Facebook did leave some hope for fans of La Rosa Bakery: “Don’t be surprised to see the name and logo of “La Rosa Bakery” again in the future.”