I’ll admit that the first time I happened to walk into the Kangaroo Express gas station at 17519 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa last year, I was actually looking for the Paris Baguette bakery — which is now located across BBD, but hadn’t opened yet.
But, what I found was a section of the gas station’s convenience store that was a Cuban-style bakery that actually was open — known as CAO Bakery & Café— and you were definitely hit with a whiff of delicious baked goods in a large display case as you walked towards that case.
“OK, great,” I thought, “I can always go for a guava pastelito, a beef or chicken empanada and/or a slice of cake — or all of the above.”
CAO stands for Cuban American Original, but it also is the actual last name of one of the co-owners, Antonio Cao, who is a third-generation baker. Antonio and his partner and childhood friend, Carlos de Varona opened their first bakery together around 2000, in a very Cuban area of Miami called Westchester, not too far from Little Havana.
Today, there are 20 CAO locations, mostly in South Florida — although there also is a full-service CAO Bakery on W. Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa — with more on the way. The BBD location is corporate-owned, but franchises are available, according to Antonio’s wife Yvette, who handles the marketing of the brand.
“Most of our other locations are full-service bakery-restaurants of anywhere from 2,000-4,000 square feet,” Yvette says. “We were looking for a spot in the Wesley Chapel area and found that the previous vendor at this location had left, so we decided to open what we call an ‘express’ location there as a test market.”
Even so, I had no idea how huge the menu at the New Tampa CAO was until I spoke with Yvette. Yes, there is a tremendous selection of freshly baked (from frozen) sweet and savory treats that are delivered from Miami to Tampa twice a week. But wait, there’s more.
“You can tell that everything is freshly baked on premises,” Yvette says. “Once people find us, they tell us they love us!”
And, despite being open for less than a year at this location, almost all of CAO’s Google reviews are 5-stars out of 5, including customer Omar Rodriguez-Hazan, who says he drives an hour from South Lakeland at least once a week, “to enjoy the flavors of Miami. The food and service are awesome. Don’t be fooled by the fact they are located in a gas station. They are a top-notch bakery which I highly recommend!”
As for the non-pastry food options, CAO has delicious bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches (below left), a twist on the popular Media Noche sandwich called Medio Dia (above right; it’s a classic guava and cheese pastelito filled with ham and melted Swiss) and even a churrasco steak plate (top photo) of which customer Jason Hicks said in his 5-star Google review, “The meat was tender and the chimichurri sauce was great. The Cuban sandwich was good also and the prices are reasonable.”
Other sandwiches include the frita CAO (a Cuban-style cheeseburger that is a house-made blend of beef, pork & chorizo, topped with crispy shoestring papitas, Swiss cheese and sazon aioli) and the Croqueta club (signature croquetas de la casa, layered with sliced turkey, crisp bacon, melted American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes & mayo) — and many more.
Other satisfied customers have loved CAO’s catering options, like trays of assorted pastelitos and croquetas shown above.
There also are more American dessert favorites like strawberry cheesecake (bottom photo on next page), carrot cake and Latin dessert staples like flan, cuatro leches, panetelita dulce de leche, flan cheesecake and so much more.
And, many customers, including yours truly, rave about CAO’s café con leche, including Oscar Olivera, who called it, “The best café con leche in Tampa, no questions about it!!!”
For more information about CAO, call (813) 280-9640 or visit CAOBakeryCafe.com to order pickup or delivery online. If you use code “CAOTAMPA” when you order, you’ll save $5 off any order of $20 or more. Or, mention the ad below or this story when you order in person to receive the discount. And, please tell them I sent you!
No comment yet, add your voice below!