Elite Bakery Brings Three Generations of Filipino-Guamanian Flavor to Union City

Move over — there’s a new bakery in town that just might eat your porridge.

Located at 4123 Dyer St. as both a retail and wholesale shop, offers everything from traditional Filipino and Guamanian baked goods and fused specialties, to classic French pastries and lavish wedding cakes.

Step inside and you’ll find plenty of cakes — red velvet, pistachio nut, ube, guava and more — along with a variety of cookies, cupcakes, pies, fruit tarts and Island treats such as Hawaiian haupia pie, hopia baboy, coconut and ube rolls, and their spicy Chamoru chicken empanada filled with minced chicken, peppers, onion, garlic and rice.

Run by co-managers and brother-and-sister duo Grace Villo-Robbins and Kenneth Villo, the family-owned bakery celebrated its grand opening last Thursday after moving from Milpitas.

While the store may be new, the Elite Bakery brand certainly isn’t.

Established in Cebu, Philippines in 1921 by their grandfather Faustino Villo, the bakery established a second location in Guam in the 1970s and, until recently, operated in Milpitas for 25 years. Their father, Ambros Villo, still runs the shop in Cebu. And their wholesale products are carried at Seafood City, Island Pacific, Ranch 99 and other major Asian supermarkets.

Nearly a century’s worth of history and notoriety aside, the new bakery’s got some stiff competition in Union City with a half-dozen Filipino bake shops all within a one-mile radius. But that doesn’t seem to faze the Villos.

All of their products are made from secret family recipes handed down for three generations using natural and quality ingredients, which Villo and Villo-Robbins believe sets them apart from mass-producing chains such as Goldilocks and .

“My dad is a stickler when it comes to quality,” Villo-Robbins said. “‘Don’t ever skimp!’ is his motto.”

It’s that quality that keeps their Milpitas customers coming to Union City almost daily, the owners said.

“We treat our customers like family,” Villo said. “We like to give the customer the best quality product with the best ingredients.”

The Union City location has been a long time in the making, Villo-Robbins said. She said they wanted to move a new space so they could focus more on retail and making wedding cakes. Construction was stalled for a while due to issues with contractors, but Villo-Robbins said she took charge of the project and saw to it that it was done correctly.

The space — the Villo Trust Building — also includes a neighboring retail space and four units above the bakery, which are available for lease. The Villos also plan to install public art along the face of the store on Dyer Street with a five-foot by seven-foot tiled piece by their oldest sibling, Agness Villo-Riefler.

With sugar and dough running through their veins, Villo and Villo-Robbis say their young children, too, are already getting started in the family business.  

“Our kids are very curious and they want to be involved in the baking process,” said Villo, adding that popular television shows like Cake Boss and Cupcakes Wars have sparked an interest in his daughters.

Welcome the Villos to the neighborhood!

Elite Bakery is located at 4123 Dyer St. Visit them at www.elite-bakery.com for more information.