Four Generations · One Recipe

Baking
history
every day.

From the bakeries of Catalonia to the cigar quarter of Ybor City — the story of a defining name in Tampa-style Cuban bread, family-owned for four generations since .

Established · Ybor City, Tampa
Founder Juan Moré
Today 20,000+ loaves daily
Address 2512 N. 15th Street
Tampa, FL 33605
Hero Image · Heritage
Juan Moré and family · circa 1920 Founder of La Segunda Central Bakery · Ybor City, Tampa
Plate I
La Segunda Central Bakery

I. The Founding

An immigrant's recipe for success.

Juan Moré was born in the Catalan region of Spain. When he fought in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, he discovered something that would change his life — and the taste of Tampa forever.

Armed with a recipe and a dream, Moré chose Ybor City — Tampa's Cuban quarter, alive with cigar factories and Latin­ American immigrant families — as the place to build his bakery. La Segunda Central Bakery has been baking in Ybor City ever since.

“Out of war came a love for the taste of authentic Cuban bread.”

The Founding Story · Juan Moré

Around World War I, Moré joined fellow bakers and cigar makers to open three Ybor City bakeries: La Primera, La Segunda, and La Tercera. When the others folded, Juan purchased La Segunda outright — and the name, the second, would prove prophetic.

Founded
Origin Catalan Spain
In Ybor City Since Day One

II. The Fire & The Rebuild

The second time, by name and by fate.

In , the original bakery burned to the ground. The Moré family rebuilt — on the same block, in the heart of Ybor City — and have baked at 2512 N. 15th Street ever since.

The name had been La Segunda — Spanish for the second — from the very first day, a nod to its place among the three Ybor City bakeries Juan Moré helped open around World War I. After the fire, the name carried a second meaning. The bakery that rose from the ashes was, quite literally, the second La Segunda.

What didn't burn: the recipe, the palmetto-leaf tradition, the family. The new building was designed around the same craft — stone hearth, hand-shaped loaves, daily bake. Same family. Same recipe. Sixty-five years and counting at 2512 N. 15th Street.

—The Family Ledger

Four generations.
One recipe.

Juan Moré's recipe, palmetto leaf, and stone hearth have been passed — untouched — from father to son to son to son. The bakery has never been sold.

Juan Moré, founder of La Segunda Central Bakery, photographed with his family in the 1920s.
Juan Moré · Founder, 1915

I

1st Generation

Juan Moré

Establishes La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City. The recipe, the palmetto leaf tradition, and the stone hearth — all his vision. Becomes a partner in nearly every Cuban bread bakery in the area.

A second-generation Moré baker loading fresh-baked Cuban bread loaves onto cooling racks. A second-generation Moré baker among rows of fresh Cuban bread at La Segunda.
Cuco & Anthony Moré · 2nd generation

II

1940s

2nd Generation

Cuco & Anthony Moré

Juan's sons enter the family business, growing La Segunda into a Tampa institution and expanding wholesale operations across the region.

Raymond Moré, third-generation owner of La Segunda, holding fresh-baked Cuban bread loaves in a 1986 newspaper feature. Tony Moré in a La Segunda polo watching his granddaughter glaze a tray of fresh pastries on the bakery floor.
Raymond & Tony Moré · 3rd generation

III

1970s

3rd Generation

Raymond & Tony Moré

Carried the bakery through decades of change. The original recipe untouched, the hand-baking traditions intact, the palmetto leaf still laid on every single loaf.

Anthony Copeland Moré, fourth-generation owner of La Segunda, photographed inside the bakery beside the wall of family history.
Anthony Copeland Moré · 4th generation, today

IV

Today

4th Generation

Anthony Copeland Moré

Tony's son keeps Juan's dream alive — over 20,000 loaves baked daily. Through 46 distributor locations including Sysco, US Foods, PFG (Performance Food Group), GFS (Gordon Food Service), Ben E. Keith and Cheney Brothers, La Segunda product can reach buyers in 35+ states. Active in 18 today. Same recipe. Same hearth. Same palmetto leaf.

"

We believe true artisanship is beautiful — and gains beauty as it is passed through the generations.
La Segunda Central Bakery · Via Ybor · Est. MCMXV
A baker's hands laying a fresh-cut palmetto leaf down the center of a shaped, unbaked Cuban loaf on a flour-dusted proofing board.
— The Signature A fresh-cut palmetto leaf, laid by hand down every single loaf.
Wooden proofing boards stacked on a rack, each lined with shaped Cuban loaves rising, lit by hazy warm light and flour dust.
— The Proof Hundreds of loaves rising on the same wooden boards, around the clock.
A baker loads shaped Cuban loaves into the long stone-hearth oven with a wooden peel, leafed loaves waiting on the canvas board in the foreground.
— The Hearth Hand-placed into the stone hearth, one loaf at a time, since 1915.

—The Craft

How a loaf gets made, since 1915.

Every loaf is mixed, leafed, crusted, and hearthed by hand — the way Juan taught it. Around the clock. Every day. Since 1915.

i

The Mix

Master bakers combine the same ingredients Juan Moré brought from Cuba. Some have worked these ovens for over 20 years.

ii

The Leaf

A freshly cut palmetto leaf is laid across each loaf. It holds moisture in and creates the signature split. Only authentic Cuban bread uses the leaf.

iii

The Crust

High-powered fans harden the exterior — producing the signature crusty outside and pillowy soft interior that defines La Segunda bread.

iv

The Hearth

Each loaf is individually hand-placed into the stone hearth and baked for 45 minutes. Every loaf. Every day. Around the clock since 1915.

—As Featured In

Recognized by the publications that cover American food.

A decade of coverage from the publications that cover American food — Southern Living, Saveur, Garden & Gun, National Geographic, Bon Appétit, Atlas Obscura, and the Tampa Bay Times. The full bibliography lives on the press page.

Read all press coverage →

“

America's oldest restaurant has served La Segunda Cuban bread exclusively for over a century.

Columbia Restaurant · Est. 1905 · Ybor City, Tampa, FL

Carry the Original

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