What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 2:45pm Tuesday 8am - 2:45pm Wednesday 8am - 2:45pm Thursday 8am - 2:45pm Friday 8am - 2:45pm Saturday 8am - 2:45pm

Tropical Bakery

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Reading, PA
Tropical Bakery

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Tropical Bakery, 854 Bingaman Street, Reading, PA.

02/23/2026

Good Morning - Due to the state of emergency assigned by the city of Reading The Bakery is NOt open today.

06/25/2024

Beat the wait order online for pickup

07/07/2023

MANANA !!! 4- 8 PM
JUEGOS, RIFAS Y ARTICULOS GRATIS ..
Tu traes tu picninc ellos la diversion !!

06/22/2022

05/11/2022

This Friday we are hosting OLAS with a science and nature activity. Come one down and bring the kids

03/12/2022

City of Reading

Address

854 Bingaman Street
Reading, PA
19602

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 2:45pm
Tuesday	8am - 2:45pm
Wednesday	8am - 2:45pm
Thursday	8am - 2:45pm
Friday	8am - 2:45pm
Saturday	8am - 2:45pm

Website

https://tropical-bakery-pa.hub.biz/

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Want your business to be the top-listed Bakery in Reading?

South Reading bakery connects to community Tropical Bakery brings a taste of Puerto Rico to its neighborhood.

"Welcome to your roots," a Puerto Rican man said to the two young men with him as he entered Tropical Bakery, 854 Bingaman St. The boys looked at the pastries, some with familiarity, others with curiosity. The man translated the Spanish names, detailing what they are like, what the names mean. "Guayaba, that's passion fruit," the man told the young men. General manager Tanya Melendez, eaves-dropping, corrected the man, "No, that's guava." "Oh well, they don't know the difference," the man said with a chuckle before buying a few pastries.

Melendez and her parents have been connecting people to their roots through their family-owned bakery on the south side of Reading for a little more than 25 years. Melendez's family moved to Reading from Puerto Rico when her mother, Estela Rivera, came to Reading from the island in 1989 when the Reading School District finalized its bilingual program.

Melendez's father, Raul Melendez, went from an office job in San Juan to doing construction in Berks County. After a few years, Raul Melendez jumped at the chance to start his own bakery in August 1992 even though he had no baking experience. Raul Melendez opened the first iteration of Tropical Bakery at 822 Bingaman St., selling only loaves of bread.

"For the first years, open to close, seven days a week, it was just him," Melendez said of her father. "The bakery is built on that, on that dedication." The bakery moved to its current location at Bingaman and South Ninth Streets in 2004. From 2001 to 2011, Tanya was working in Puerto Rico as a travel agent, specializing in personalized travel itineraries.

Melendez came back to Reading in 2012 when her father felt it was time to retire. Melendez applied her work experience - building a unique product in a tight time frame with a set budget - to her position as general manager. Though her father has taken a lesser role in the daily operations of the bakery, he still retains the ultimate say over important decisions.

The bakery is also a social club of sorts; people use it as a meeting point, a place to grab coffee and talk about how the family is doing. The small eating area of the bakery is usually packed on weekends, sometimes with lines out the door. Chatter about the last big boxing match, family news or the previous night's escapades fill the bakery on any given day.

"It becomes not just a place for people to gather, it becomes a community," Melendez said. Children of customers have now become customers with their own children; when a long-time customer dies, employees attend the funeral, according to Melendez. When Melendez took the reins of the business from her father, she gave the bakery some measured updates such as a new logo, new bilingual menus and putting the business on social media. The bakery continues to succeed into the 21st century due to an even-handed blend of her innovative spirit and her father's tried and true traditions. Beyond more than 30 pastry items for sale, the business has expanded to include 16 sandwich and breakfast items.

In the same vein, Melendez is hoping to see the business continue to expand. Melendez said the business could possibly grow into a second location at one of the several farmers markets just outside of Reading. Other than that, Melendez said she is happy to watch the bakery continue to be a neighborhood staple.

"I'll take another 25 years," Melendez said with a smile.

Contact Anthony Orozco 610-371-5015 or [email protected].