12 International Bakeries To Explore in Colorado

The holiday season is a time where people can munch on endless amounts of food whether it’s sweet or savory. We’re allowed to get a second or third plate of deliciousness without feeling guilty (until the new year, of course). It’s a time to enjoy being surrounded by family, friends and the food they have to offer. The holiday season also marks the increased demand for treats and goodies for bakeries, whether it’s seasonal or not. If you have run out of time and are looking for some authentic, worldly bakeries here in Colorado to sweeten up your holiday parties by transporting you and your guests to another country — you’ve come to the right place.

Tokyo Premium Bakery

Photo Courtesy of Tokyo Premium Bakery on Facebook.

Where: 1540 S Pearl St., Denver.
Hours: Tuesday – Thursday and Sunday 6 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday – Saturday 6 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Lowdown: If you have ever visited Japan and enjoyed pastries there, this bakery will transport you back to the island with its authentic Japanese pastries and desserts. Tokyo Premium Bakery opened its doors just over a month ago on October 7, and people keep coming back for more to satisfy their cravings for its tasty treats. It offers a variety of flakey and fluffy pastries ranging from sweet to savory that you can pair with beverages like a matcha latte. All its goodies are baked fresh, but be sure to get there earlier in the day to get your hands on a particular treat. Some goods may be restocked throughout the day so don’t fret if some of its shelves are empty when you walk in — although, be sure to double-check with the staff if they will be restocking a certain goodie.

Yum Yum Cake & Pastries

Green Tea Roll and Green Tea Boba. Photo by Lukas Crosby.

Where: 2680 S Havana St. #AA, Aurora.
Hours: Monday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Lowdown: If you aren’t in the mood for an overly sweet baked treat then Yum Yum Cake and Pastries is the bakery for you. It’s a Korean bakery that also offers other pastries such as macarons, cakes and made-to-order cakes. Some of their Korean pastries include deep fried red bean doughnuts, sweet potato doughnuts, green bean buns, cornbread and pastries with a variety of fillings like bavarian cream. It not only offers pastries but also shaved ice, boba and hot beverages.

Vinh Xuong Bakery

Photo by Amanda Piela.

Where:  2370 W Alameda Ave., Denver; 375 S Federal Blvd., Unit 112, Denver; 3501 Wazee St., Denver.
Hours: Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday – Sunday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Lowdown: Vinh Xuong Bakery is one of Colorado’s most esteemed Vietnamese bakeries. The Huynh family opened the bakery’s doors more than 25 years ago and have opened up two more spots since then, and it’s still being ran by a sister and brother of the family. Vinh Xuong Bakery has an assortment of baked goods and sandwiches. Sesame seed balls, almond cookies, red bean filled pastries and steamed pork buns are just some of the Vietnamese goodies you can snag for a cheap price. It’s best known for its fresh-to-order bánh mì sandwiches coming in a variety of options — to cater to different diets — including bbq pork, beef, spicy avocado, spicy tofu and its winter special, pho bánh mì. Customers will leave completely full after eating one of its $5 bánh mì sandwiches.

Shahrazad Bakery

Photo by Lukas Crosby.

Where: 2603 S Parker Rd., Aurora.
Hours: Monday – Sunday 9 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Lowdown: Shahrazad Bakery opened recently to bring Middle Eastern breads to Colorado. Iraqi husband and wife duo, Bassam and Marta Salih, moved to Denver from Utah a few years ago. The bakery specializes in Iraqi baked goods, but also make various baked goods to cater to their customers from all over the Middle East. Warm smiles welcome you into the shop as the aroma of fresh bread surrounds you. Customers will even be able to see their clay oven upon walking in. It offers various breads but also a few sweet treats as well. If you’re looking for authentic Middle Eastern — especially Iraqi — baked goodies this is definitely the place for you.

Omonoia Greek Bakery

Almond Cake from Omonoia.

Where: 2813 E Colfax Ave., Denver.
Hours: Monday – Sunday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Lowdown: Omonoia is a Greek mom-and-pop like bakery that offers a range of new world and old world pastries. Its baked Greek treats are hard to find in other bakeries around town — making it more special. Some of its Greek pastries include baklava (a layered pastry with spiced nuts and sweet honey), Galaktoboureko (a layered custard pastry) and spanakopita (spinach pie) — all made by using filo dough to create a perfection of flakiness. Additionally, it offers popular desserts like cannolis, strawberry shortcake, almond cake, cream puffs and a light but flavorful tiramisu. Customers can wash down its desserts with a cup of Greek coffee as well. Its Greek baked goodies may be hard to pronounce to some but will still leave you wanting more.

Trompeau

Trompeau’s Bakery. Photo by Andrew Horton.

Where: 2950 S Broadway, Englewood.
Hours: Monday – Saturday 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Lowdown: Trompeau is an authentic French bakery that will teleport you to France. Its professionally trained bakers and pastry chefs bake their assortment of sweet to savory treats every morning for six days of the week. The menu of this family-owned bakery changes based on the availability of local products and seasons. Customers can also pair a hot beverage with many of its treats. Some of its baked goodies include baguettes, bâtards (similar to a baguette), buns, loaves, boules (traditional French bread resembling a squashed ball), American cookies, sweet loaves, French cookies, sweet and savory croissants and quiche — all of these goodies have a variety of options to choose from.

San Antonio Fresh Mexican Bakery and Juice Bar

Pan de Muerto. Photo Courtesy of San Antonio Fresh Mexican Bakery and Juice Bar on Facebook.

Where: 2007 S Federal Blvd., Denver.
Hours: Monday – Sunday 6 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Lowdown: It’s a traditional panadería where there is no seating and customers pick up a tray, a pair of tongs and choose upon the assortment of Mexican baked treats. People may come across a language barrier when trying to communicate with some staff members, but that shouldn’t stop you from delving into one of their traditional Mexican pastries. Some of its baked goods include empanadas filled with guava, apple, strawberry, pineapple and mango as well as chocolate filled pastries and a variety of flavorful conchas (a sweet bread).

Cuba Bakery & Cafe

Image via Thinkstock

Where: 15028 East Mississippi Ave., Aurora.
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Lowdown: This bakery and cafe serves up authentic Cuban cuisine — ranging from pastries and cakes to sandwiches and coffee. Customers can enjoy their food in a comfortable, family-friendly environment where you have the choice to dine in or get it to go. The best part is that goodies are offered at affordable prices, so people can relish in the friendly customer service and modest pricing. Some goodies include empanadas which come in a handful of different fillings such as chorizo, shredded beef and chicken. It also has flakey puff pastries topped with a glaze and sugar that come in a variety of fillings including cheese, guava, apple, guava with cheese, meat, pineapple and strawberry.

Zoelsmann’s Bakery

Photo Courtesy of Zoelmann’s Bakery.

Where: 912 E Abriendo Ave., Pueblo.
Hours: Monday – Saturday 8 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Disregard the hours in the above photo).

Lowdown: One of Pueblo’s hidden gems — it’s been serving as a deli and bakery for over 100 years and has been at the same location for nearly 60. It brings you back in time to an old-fashioned bakery that has traditional baked goods with European/Italian flair. Customers can order some lunch — like pasta or cold cut sandwiches with fresh deli meat and cheeses — while they wait for their fresh marble rye bread or sweet cinnamon rolls to be given to them. Its bread is always fresh, which makes it enjoyable in sandwich form or not. After buying some bread and eating lunch — be sure to finish your meal here with a ricotta cookie and drive back home full of happiness.

Wimberger’s Old World Bakery & Delicatessen

Sweet Poppy Seed Rolls. Photo Courtesy of Wimbergers.

Where: 2321 Bott Ave., Colorado Springs.
Hours: Tuesday – Thursday 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Lowdown: Wimberger’s is a classic German bakery, store and deli. A German couple — Gisela and Robert Wimberger — who immigrated to the US founded the bakery in 1972 in desperation to find authentic German rye bread. The Wimberger family still operates and owns the old world bakery. Its loyal customer base goes beyond Colorado simply by word of mouth — shipping their baked goods throughout the United States to individuals and grocery stores. Its family recipes for breads, Kaiser rolls and pretzels have been passed down through generations — crafted with traditional European techniques. The chefs and bakers utilize the best natural ingredients with no preservatives and make fresh goodies daily — never more than a few hours out of the oven. If you’re craving something sweet, it also has an assortment of streusels, fruit tarts, Berliners (German donuts), cinnamon rolls and many other sweet treats to satisfy you.

Rheinlander Bakery

Cherry Cranberry Orange Strudel. Photo Courtesy of Rheinlander Bakery on Facebook.

Where: 5721 Olde Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada.
Hours: Sunday – Tuesday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Wednesday 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday 8:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Lowdown: Rheinlander Bakery has been baking goodies for Olde Town Arvada for 55 years. It features many German and European pastries and baked goods, including handcrafted Dutch pies, German torte cakes, coffee cakes, cupcakes, handcrafted cookies, breakfast pastries and German strudels. Some Dutch pie flavors include the new pumpkin chocolate truffle, Dutch apple streusel, Dutch cherry, streusel pumpkin and many more. There are many strudel flavors including seasonal ones such as Drunken bavarian apple, cherry marzipan, raspberry reisling and beinistich. If you’re vegan, lactose intolerant, or want to eat sugar-free or gluten-free — there are many options for you too. It has specialty baked goods and desserts for the holiday season, so customers should get their orders in quickly before time runs out. This year will also be their first ever serving pumpkin mousse vegan pies for Thanksgiving.

Boonzaaijer’s Dutch Bakery

Photo Courtesy of Boonzaaijer’s Dutch Bakery on Facebook.

Where: 610 E Fillmore St., Colorado Springs.
Hours: Monday – Friday 6:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Lowdown: Boonzaaijer’s Dutch Bakery was founded in 1999 by fourth generation baker, Stephen Boonzaaijer. He worked in his family bakery since he was about five-years-old and continued throughout college. Like Rheinlander Bakery, Boonzaaijer also offers seasonal menus during the holidays. Some of its Thanksgiving goodies include traditional pie and creampie options, stollen bread (fruit bread with nuts, spices and dried or candied fruit), linzer torte, bread pudding and variety of holiday cookies. There is also an extensive variety of pastries. Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts), European buttercream cake slices, almond croissants, cheese pockets, Danish coffee cakes and pinwheels are only some of them.