Molinas Bakery

Molinas Bakery has been turning out Colombian pastries and bread along North University Drive for more than two decades, with a directory listing showing the shop has been open at its Sunrise location for around 21 years. In a city without much of a historic commercial core, a bakery that’s stayed in the same spot that long has effectively become part of the neighborhood’s rhythm for the Colombian and broader Latin American families who live nearby.

The bakery describes its approach simply: for more than 20 years, it has been preparing 100% Colombian recipes with the highest quality, built around traditional family recipes rather than a shortcut version of the cuisine. That shows up in the case, pan de bono, the cheesy, chewy Colombian bread roll, alongside buñuelos and other baked goods that don’t always show up at a typical American bakery. It’s a menu built for people who grew up on this food and know exactly what it’s supposed to taste like, which raises the bar in a way a generic bakery case doesn’t have to meet.

Beyond the baked goods, Molinas also serves prepared Colombian dishes, making it as much a small restaurant as a bakery for people who want a full meal rather than just a pastry and coffee. That dual identity, bakery counter plus hot food, is common in Colombian panaderías, and it means the shop can serve breakfast, a midday meal, and an afternoon coffee-and-pastry stop all in the same visit.

Molinas sits on North University Drive, a stretch of Sunrise that runs through a mix of small strip retail and ethnic grocery and restaurant businesses rather than the big outlet malls the city is better known for. That corridor has become something of a home base for Colombian-owned food businesses in Sunrise, and Molinas is one of the longer-standing ones, having outlasted plenty of newer entrants in the same few blocks.

The bakery is open daily from early morning to evening, which makes it workable whether you’re stopping in before work for coffee and a pastry or picking up bread for dinner later in the day. For a family-run business to hold onto the same block on University Drive for over two decades, through however many economic ups and downs South Florida has gone through since the early 2000s, points to a loyal customer base that keeps coming back rather than one built on novelty or a single viral moment.

If you haven’t had Colombian pan de bono warm out of the oven, or you’re looking for a lunch spot that isn’t a chain, Molinas Bakery is a solid stop on University Drive, especially for anyone who already knows the difference between a bakery doing the recipes properly and one that’s cutting corners.