Francisco Ferlita, a native of Santo Stefano, Sicily, established a bakery on this site in 1896. Bread sold for three cents and five cents, and often on credit. In 1922 the wooden structure was destroyed by fire, and a yellow brick building was built around the remaining old red brick ovens. Ferlita died in 1931, and his five sons Stephen, Angelo, Joe, Tony and John continued making Cuban bread until 1973.
At the peak of production 35,000 loaves of Cuban bread were produced weekly. Tampa's Latin Loaf is like no other bread in the world. It is leavened with emotion, flavored with tradition, and eaten with a large helping of nostalgia. The Ybor City State Museum is a tribute to the Ferlita family and the Cuban bread industry both of which have helped make Ybor City famous.
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