Nanding’s Bakery will expand to a third location at Campbell and Kapahulu avenues sometime this summer.
Famous for its Spanish rolls, pan de sal and other sweet treats, the bakery owned by Fernando Paez and three partners could open in June or July, according to Carlo Paez, Fernando’s son and a third-generation baker.
The first Nanding’s Bakery opened at 918 Gulick Ave. in 2001, Carlo Paez said, followed by the Waipahu store at 94-216 Farrington Highway in 2007.
Parking is a challenge at the Gulick Avenue location, while the Waipahu store is part of a small shopping center. The new Kapahulu store will have some parking and will have a slightly more generous floor plan, the younger Paez said.
"We’re going to make the store a little bigger … with some tables," where customers can sit and have coffee with their pastries.
The hope is that given its location, the new Nanding’s will get local and visitor traffic as well. Depending on how the third location performs, others may be in the works.
Side Street Inn On Da Strip manager Robbie Acoba was excited enough to see the banner announcing the impending arrival across the street when he went to work on Monday that he shared a photo of it via social media. His post expressed relief that there would be no need to travel to Kalihi or Waipahu to get the bakery’s goods, which people rave about on online review sites such as Yelp.
The building formerly housed a Domino’s Pizza, but had been vacant for some time, Acoba said.
Spanish rolls are cloud-soft, sweet and buttery; are sort of tubular; and are smaller, softer and much tastier than a hot dog bun.
The recipes used by the various local bakeries came to Hawaii with Filipino immigrants, and the rolls are a favorite pastry in the islands.
They may not be as well-known to as many people as are Portuguese malasadas or Okinawan andagi, but Spanish roll devotees commonly leave the bakery with boxes full of dozens to share.
It’s what gets people in the door, Carlo Paez said, expressing gratitude for the word-of-mouth advertising about the rolls.
Pan de sal is the second-best seller, Paez said.
"It’s something Filipinos are accustomed to having, like Japanese are with rice," he said. "We have to have it every morning. … It’s good with coffee."
Hopia, similar to a filled pastry like Japanese manju, also are popular and can be sweet or savory.
Ensamadas, or soft, spiraled pastries typically spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar, are available with various flavored fillings at Nanding’s, Paez said, including coconut, ube or sweet potato, for instance.
