A family bakery near Ronda, famous for its gold-leaf bread, plans to roll out a chain of coffee shops

More than 80 years ago, the Piña family in Algatocín, located in the Genal valley in the Serranía de Ronda, began offering its best wares from its bakery to local residents. That village business is still very much alive today, adapted to the times and currently in full expansion mode. But it is still keeping its unique identity: the quality of its products and the love and passion of its bakers.

Juan Manuel Moreno, partner of one of the Piña sisters, took over the business several years ago and now his breads and cakes are distributed throughout Andalucía and many parts Spain, as well as being exported abroad. Much of the success of the business lies in the production of a bread incorporating gold lead, which made the bakery famous. The exclusive product allowed Moreno to enter the Costa del Sol market, particularly the luxury sector, where many in the hotel and hospitality trade use the Pan Piña recipe on its menus, although nowadays, most of the that production process is done elsewhere.

Faced with growing demand, Pan Piña had to expand. That is why it is planning to build a production centre in the town of Casares, costing around six million euros (four million euros for the construction and the rest for the equipment) and the creation of a chain of coffee shops and patisseries. "As soon as we have the production centre finished, we will start with the first of them," said Moreno, who stated that the first of these is planned for the Costa del Sol, in Estepona. "We want them to be our own but also offer franchises," announced the businessman, who was coy about revealing more details about this new line of business.

In Casares, Pan Piña has already rented a warehouse to handle its logistical work. The intention is also to maintain the Algatocín bakery, which will produce certain types of bread.

The new facilities in Casares will cover an area of 4,000 square metres, 1,000 of which will be used for a large warehouse. Pan Piña has a staff of 12 employees and with this project, once it becomes a reality, it hopes to at least double the number of workers.