March 20, 2011

Charlotte Bakery

Photography Brenda Benoit

The history of this great little bakery started in 1960s when the family opened their first bakery back in their hometown of Santiago, Chile. Years later they moved to Venezuela where they opened yet another bakery. It was the only bakery in Venezuela that offered baked good from all over central and South America. Today their grandson, Harry Coleman, and his wife, Michelle continues the family tradition. Harry and Michelle graduated from Florida International University, and are running the day-to-day operations of the bakery.

All of the empanadas and pastries like the creme brulee are made right here using high quality ingredients. One thing to note about empanadas, although you can find them everywhere in Miami, you must know where to go because many of the empanadas that you see are not made on premises which means they are frozen until they get to the destination – and believe me, empanadas taste different when they are fresh. Here at Charlotte Bakery they make them every morning with recipes that has been perfected through the years, this place knows their empanadas.