Family-Owned Passion Bakery Café Comes To Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — Passion Bakery Café, the family-owned pastry and cookie shop, opened its third Maryland location Thursday at Plaza del Mercado in Silver Spring.

Located at 2281 Bel Pre Rd., Passion Bakery Café serves both sweet and savory dishes, including éclairs, chocolate mousse cakes, vegetable wraps, and parmesan cheese quesadillas.

The growing business is run by brothers Melvin and Huber Mendoza, who say they are living the American Dream.

But their journey wasn't always easy.

In January 1990, the pair moved to Arlington, Virginia, without family, friends, or an understanding of the English language.

"The first months were difficult," the brothers said.

Later that year, the Mendoza brothers got jobs at The Watergate Hotel's pastry shop in Washington, D.C. That's where they fell in love with baking and decided to open a bakery.

"We set ourselves a goal," Melvin and Huber Mendoza said on the company's website. "(B)ring all the brothers together, help them work at the same bakery so we can one day have our own Dream become a reality."

And that's exactly what happened.

In the last 20 years, the pair has opened three Passion Bakery Café locations: first in Sandy Spring, then in Beltsville, and finally in Silver Spring.

"The American Dream became a reality for the Mendoza family," said Melvin Mendoza.