La Estrella Bakery: 40 Years From a Dirt Lot to Four Shops
Tucson's La Estrella Bakery opened in 1986 and turns 40 this October: its four locations, hours, the pastries to order, and how its pan de muerto is made.
The Franco family opened a panadería on South 12th Avenue in 1986. Four decades on it bakes at four Tucson addresses, including the westside building where the founders first learned the trade.
In 1986, Antonio and Marta Franco opened a bakery at 5266 S. 12th Ave. on a dirt lot, with a hand-painted sign that said "open." The family remembers the first day's sales as somewhere under $40. Forty years later La Estrella Bakery bakes at four Tucson addresses, its breads are stocked at Safeway and Fry's, and the family says the 40th anniversary falls this October — the same weeks its bakers spend shaping pan de muerto by hand.
- 1986
- Year the South 12th Avenue bakery opened
- 4
- Tucson locations, from the south side to downtown
- 3
- Generations of the Franco family working the ovens
- 1930s
- Age of the stone oven used for pan de muerto
The Westside Building Where It Started
Before La Estrella existed, the Francos learned to make pan dulce at El Rio Bakery on North Grande Avenue, working under their uncle, Sabino Gomez. In 2021 the family bought that building at 901 N. Grande Ave. and reopened it as La Estrella's third shop, roughly half a century after they first trained there. The second location had come in 2011, inside Mercado San Agustín at 100 S. Avenida del Convento.
The fourth opened in May 2024: an 800-square-foot storefront at 141 S. Stone Ave., Suite 100, on the ground floor of a downtown hotel building across from St. Augustine Cathedral. It was the bakery's first downtown, and the family said it wanted to serve downtown residents and hotel guests. "We truly believe that bakeries belong inside of neighborhoods," Isabel Montaño, the founders' daughter, said when it was announced.
Four Shops, Four Sets of Hours
The hours differ enough that it pays to check before driving across town. As published in May 2026: South 12th Avenue is open Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mercado San Agustín runs Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. North Grande Avenue opens Tuesday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Downtown on Stone Avenue keeps the shortest day, Tuesday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both the Grande and Stone shops close Mondays.
What to Point at in the Case
The concha, a cinnamon bread under a shell-patterned sugar crust, is the most popular pastry at panaderías generally. At La Estrella the soft turnovers are a reliable order too, filled with apple, pineapple or pumpkin. The coyota is a flat, flaky cookie filled with piloncillo, a style that originated in Sonora. The cochito is a pig-shaped cookie flavored with molasses and cinnamon rather than ginger, and the oreja is a flaky, lightly sweet "elephant ear." Newer to most visitors are hebillas, a donut-like pastry frosted in white, pink, brown, blue and green, and the bakery's butterfly cookies.
It is not only sweets. The shops sell flour tortillas, tamales and menudo, and the family says everything is baked fresh daily without pre-made ingredients.
Pan de Muerto Season Is Already Underway
Each October the bakers shape pan de muerto by hand and bake it in a stone oven that dates to the 1930s. The dough carries cinnamon and sugar, sometimes orange, lemon or anise, and each round loaf is topped with dough "bones" representing the hands of the departed. Then comes the colored sugar — pink, blue and orange — instead of black. "We don't use any black because it's not for us to mourn, it's to celebrate," Montaño has said.
The loaves come in several sizes, from a small one meant for two people up to one large enough for a full table, and the bakery bakes hundreds of them ahead of Nov. 2. In past seasons it has kept selling them until about mid-November or until a day's batch runs out, and teachers have ordered them for classrooms. Large orders are worth a call to the shop first.
A Third Generation at 12th Avenue
Isabel Montaño now runs daily operations across all four shops, alongside siblings who carry on the work. Her son Sebastian is the third generation, and he has worked in the bakery since he was 6. "What really holds us together is the community," he said this spring. For anyone weighing a move to downtown, Barrio Hollywood or the south side, a 40-year-old bakery that opens at 6 a.m. is the kind of daily errand a listing rarely mentions, and one worth finding on the map before making an offer.
Sources
Arizona Daily Star (Arizona Sonoran News) — "La Estrella Bakery celebrates 4 decades of serving Tucson with traditional Mexican pastries" (May 23, 2026) — https://tucson.com/news/local/business/article_086ef670-5623-4880-a508-4726799d325b.html — accessed October 18, 2026
KGUN 9 — "In the family: La Estrella Bakery expands to keep Tucson sweet" — https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/southside-news/in-the-family-la-estrella-bakery-expands-to-keep-tucson-sweet — accessed October 18, 2026
AZPM — "Tucson's La Estrella Bakery a Mainstay for Pan de Muerto" (November 2, 2015) — https://news.azpm.org/s/34718-tucsons-la-estrella-bakery-a-local-mainstay-for-pan-de-muerto-bread-of-the-dead/ — accessed October 18, 2026
#ThisIsTucson — "La Estrella just expanded to Tucson's west side. Here's what you missed at the grand opening" (August 3, 2021) — https://thisistucson.com/eat/article_52690386-f401-11eb-b1a5-fb5acd5a9527.html — accessed October 18, 2026
#ThisIsTucson — "Celebrate Dia de los Muertos with this colorful 'dead bread'" (November 1, 2017) — https://thisistucson.com/eat/article_f62de8bc-9e0f-11e6-a7f9-d7b76cee4f4f.html — accessed October 18, 2026
#ThisIsTucson — "La Estrella Bakery close to opening downtown Tucson location" (March 14, 2024) — https://thisistucson.com/eat/tucson-la-estrella-bakery-downtown/article_ec2869bc-e22e-11ee-b8c6-33563c10beea.html — accessed October 18, 2026
Tucson Foodie — "Grand Opening for La Estrella Bakery's New Downtown Location" (April 30, 2024) — https://tucsonfoodie.com/2024/04/30/la-estrella-downtown-opening/ — accessed October 18, 2026
Tucson Foodie — "Your Visual Guide to Traditional Mexican Pastries at La Estrella Bakery" (April 28, 2026) — https://tucsonfoodie.com/2026/04/28/your-visual-guide-to-traditional-mexican-pastries-at-la-estrella-bakery/ — accessed October 18, 2026
KGUN 9 — "Local bakery celebrates Día de los Muertos with traditional treat" — https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/local-bakery-celebrates-dia-de-los-muertos-with-traditional-treat — accessed October 18, 2026
La Estrella Bakery — Locations and "In Business Since 1986" — https://laestrellabakeryincaz.com/ — accessed October 18, 2026
Hours, locations and seasonal availability are set by the business and can change; confirm with the shop before visiting or placing a large order. This post is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase real estate. Kyle Berglund and Tierra Antigua Realty fully support and comply with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.
Topics
- Local Business Spotlight
- La Estrella Bakery
- Pan Dulce
- Pan de Muerto
- Barrio Hollywood
- Downtown Tucson
- Southside Tucson
- Tucson Food