St. Petersburg bakery The Crumb Factory has opened a second location in Dunedin at 1689 Main St., in the former Southern Bay Bakery.

When the space became available in early 2025, a regular customer and realtor reached out to Pablo and Katie Mardones, owners of The Crumb Factory, to see if they were interested in the space. The couple had been discussing whether to expand, focus more on wholesale or just stay the course with their St. Petersburg location at 5701 Central Ave.

“We thought maybe this is a sign from the universe,” Mardones said by phone in January. “There’s not many bakeries around.”

Mardones is from Santiago, Chile, where bread in some shape or form is present at every meal, he said, and he wanted to bring that to Tampa Bay. Just about five years to the day since they opened their St. Pete location, they opened the doors in Dunedin. Their grand opening was Jan. 24.

The Crumb Factory bakes everything in-house, an array of naturally leavened loaves, French pastries, breakfast and lunch items, plus a full coffee menu. If it’s a sandwich, croissant or pain au chocolat, you can bet it’s crafted steps away from where you’re eating it.

The Dunedin store is designed to mirror what the St. Pete store does in menu and operations, Mardones said. The only main difference is that the parking is more convenient and available in Dunedin. They also wholesale to Apoteak, Kafe Racer and Lane’s Lemonade nearby.

The Crumb Factory Dunedin features an open kitchen concept and baking production on display, Mardones said.

Sourdough is The Crumb Factory’s flagship style of bread, resulting from a 24-hour process during which the dough is mixed, proofed then baked. Flour, salt, water, wild yeast and time are the simple ingredients that form the backbone of the bakery.

“It’s more labor intensive … it’s not something you can make quick. So it’s harder to find,” Mardones said. “You put a little love and care and you come to form something simple and something great, you know.”

Evan Rodriguez is a food and dining reporter. He can be reached at erodriguez@tampabay.com.