On the corner of University Boulevard and Fourth Avenue, sits the new location of 1989 Bake House. Starting as a pop-up bakery across Tucson, the new downtown spot offers decadent New York style cookies, locally sourced coffee, an array of rich pastries and a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu.
Roselena Trevizo, the owner and founder, got an early start in the culinary arts. Growing up, both her parents worked a lot and she got tired of eating random foods.
“Food Network was really popular when I was growing up,” Trevizo said. “When I was in second grade, I started making dinner and slowly it transitioned into I occasionally made dinner to I made dinner every day. In that process, because everything on Food Network came with a dessert, I started doing desserts, too.”
Her early desserts consisted of Walmart cake mixes, but soon enough, she expanded into more elaborate recipes with the help of the surrounding community.
“I lived in the South, so the Black women around me just taught me how to make stuff,” Trevizo said. “They taught me how to make gravy, biscuits, pie, cobbler. They taught me how to make so much.”
Through a lot of trial and error, Trevizo honed her skill and it snowballed into an obsession. Her love of trying new things pushed her to explore different dishes and cuisines.
“I mean, who makes rack of lamb for dinner in ninth grade?” Trevizo said. “There I was trying it. It was awful. Oh, my God, it was the worst thing I’ve ever had in my life. But I tried,” Trevizo said.
After a first attempt at making ribs the night after the failed rack of lamb, she consulted her neighbor about how to grill, which planted the seed for her love of barbecue. Trevizo went on to attend culinary school and worked as a line cook for several years, often taking on the baking for the restaurants she worked in.
In 2023, following a hiatus from the culinary world, she and her partner, Randy Koch, opened up their first bakery pop-up.
“I thought, ‘Oh, this is just gonna be like a fun time. I’ll make some cookies. I’ll make some brownies and then I’ll go to work the next day,’” Trevizo said. “It very quickly turned into something a lot more serious.”
After a short time on the local market scene, they were approached by a homeowners association of a retirement community in Green Valley, Arizona. They offered them the opportunity to open a brick and mortar location. Initially apprehensive, the couple decided to make the leap.
“Like ‘The Godfather’, they made us an offer we couldn’t refuse,” Trevizo said.
Spending roughly a year in the Green Valley location, Trevizo and Koch both knew that it was not their forever home. According to Trevizo, they were subject to racist remarks and an unwelcoming atmosphere. They looked for a new spot and in January, they came across the vacant location that used to house Cafe Maggie.
“We came down,” Trevizo said. “We saw the building. We toured it. I was in a haze. I was like, ‘Let’s just sign this lease.’”
They secured the new building, but the work was far from over. Along with Trevizo’s brother, a contractor, they took on the bulk of the construction work themselves.
After a few weeks of 18 hour days retrofitting the future bakery and a few more days of deep-cleaning, they were open for business.
Taking inspiration from Trevizo’s Mexican and Honduran heritage, the new menu will be a fusion of flavors and cultures. They plan to serve a southern-style macaroni and cheese, slow roasted potatoes, a plethora of sandwiches, marinated chicken thighs, meatloaf and much more.
“There’s so many ideas,” Trevizo said. “We’re gonna do a street taco croissant. I want to do a macaroni and cheese brisket croissant […] I don’t want to be in this box of like, ‘This is all I can do.’ No. I want to come in and just do whatever I want.”
Eventually, they plan building a patio with a ramada, which will house an off-set smoker to add barbecue to their repertoire.
Most of what 1989 Bake House offers is made in-house. However, they source from other local businesses including Decibel Coffee Works, Presta Coffee Roasters, Yellow Brick Coffee, Holy Focaccia, I’d Smoke That and Haus of Macs for macarons.
Located at 745 N. Fourth Ave, they are set to celebrate their grand opening on April 11. In the meantime, they are open Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 6:30 a.m to 9 p.m and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
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