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For more than 20 years, Laura & Daisy Mexican Bakery in Eugene has been serving up conchas and other pastries made by Gonzalo Raul Silva Lobato from his shop on West 11th Avenue.
Tucked between neighborhood shops on West 11th Avenue, the sounds of morning radio echo with lively Latin music as the scent of freshly baked bread drifts out the door.
Inside, customers are greeted by vibrant piñatas swaying gently from the ceiling. On one end of the store, a table is completely covered in trinkets of miniature Latin dishes like enchiladas and elotes, tiny molcajetes, painted pottery and tortilla presses. On the other side, counters display beaded jewelry, keychains, sweaters and flower-embroidered bags for sale. The bakery is also a small grocery store, with shelves of Mexican pantry staples.
Pan dulce, including conchas, bolillos and crumbly sugar cookies sit in piles on trays and carefully stacked onto racks and into glass display cases. These were made by the man who came to Oregon in 1999 with baking skills and a simple goal: build a life selling bread.
For 22 years in Eugene, his routine at the Laura & Daisy Mexican Bakery has been the same. Gonzalo Raúl Silva Lobato rises early each morning to bake, then fill glass display cases with trays of freshly made goods.
From Mexico to Eugene
His journey to Oregon started with a call when he was still in Veracruz, Mexico.
His sister, Angelica Caballero, who owned four bakeries in Salem, Albany, Eugene and Springfield, asked if he could help her out. Caballero needed help from her brother, who first learned how to bake 50 years ago when he was a child.
So Lobato made his way north. He worked in Salem and Albany bakeries, eventually buying the Eugene location. He saw potential with local demand for quality bread.
“When I arrived in Eugene, there were no panaderías,” Lobato said. “There was only one place that sold bread but it wasn’t fresh. This was the first panadería in Eugene.”
As his business grew, maintaining the quality of his breads was always his priority.
He believes the commitment to the quality of his baked goods set him apart, as other panaderías popped up in Eugene. And it keeps his customers happy.
The 59-year-old Lobato claims people say his bread is made at home and not freshly made daily in the panadería.
“It’s a lie, it’s not true,” he said. “If you’re going to grab a concha, the conchas are made here, today, and all handmade.”
Overcoming struggles
To maintain the quality of his craft, Lobato researches ingredients to ensure his food is made with natural ingredients, free of chemicals and preservatives. He sources sugar from Canada, but his yeast comes from Mexico.
“When I go to stores, I see what they sell; they’re poorly made products,” Lobato said. “They have chemicals that can even cause cancer. I try to work with the most natural ingredients.”
Rising inflation has made it increasingly difficult to source even the simplest ingredients, like eggs. The carton of eggs he once purchased for $63 has climbed to $203. Wanting to maintain the affordability and convenience for his customers, he found a new vendor who could offer a more stable rate, which cut his costs significantly.
It’s not the first time he overcame challenges at his bakery.
“I started earning money to live here because that’s what we needed money for in the first place. And I started working, working, working,” Lobato said.
In those first hard nights, he and his wife, Elizabeth Silva, slept on a piece of cardboard under the ovens with the heat from the kitchen to keep warm.
When Lobato bought the Eugene panadería, he ran into issues with employees stealing. Now, he only works with his son, Diego Silva Hernandez, because that is the only person he trusts.
Lobato believes his past is behind him and that he is not defined by his struggles. Due to the success of his business, he was able to pay off his house after 11 years and buy a new-model truck.
“My life and I have changed a lot,” he said. “Those are the challenges I faced. When I arrived, I arrived with nothing. And today, I laugh at life.”
Though he runs a Mexican bakery offering authentic pastries and breads, he says Americans are his best customers.
While he takes pride in the quality of his bread, Americans “come and don’t care if the bread is good, bad, or stale—they don’t care. They buy it.” He said that he appreciates their business because they always remember to thank him, while some in the Hispanic community might not.
Over the years, Lobato built relationships with regular customers and nearby businesses. Area workers often stop by for fresh baked goods in the morning. Lobato said his customer base evolved over the years, and keeps changing.
“Little girls who were brought by their mothers, now married, say ‘I remember when I used to come here with my mom,’” he said.
“In Eugene, there are plenty of shops that are just another place here. We sell bread and all that but we have a community,” Hernandez, Lobato’s son, said. “People come here to feel happy eating bread with their coffee and it mostly brings smiles to people.”
Despite the panadería’s popularity, Lobato keeps a low profile in his kitchen with his hands deep in flour and kneading dough. Depending on the day, he produces approximately 400 to 800 baked goods. He finds joy in his work and feels blessed knowing his panadería will always sell out.
“For me, it means doing what I love—providing a service, and improving what I can do to ensure everything turns out right,” Lobato said. “There’s nothing more to it.”
If you go:
Laura & Daisy Mexican Bakery
2160 W. 11th Ave., Eugene
541-338-3159
8 a.m. – 8 p.m., Mondays – Saturdays (closed Sundays)
Editor’s note: Interviews for this story were conducted in Spanish. The reporter translated all quotes into English.
