Baker on East Takes Over Salcedo
Words Mika Reyes
Photos courtesy of Baker on East
May 20, 2025
If you didn’t know, there’s a cozy yet modern pastry haven tucked in the heart of Salcedo, where the aroma of freshly baked donuts wafts through the air and each bite carries the promise of culinary artistry. This online to offline bakery is called Baker On East, and it’s taking over Manila’s food scene with its bold flavors, meticulous craftsmanship, and strong sense of community. What started as a home-based experiment between two brothers has now transformed into the city’s newest pastry destination, proving that some risks are not only worth taking, but worth savoring.
For brothers and founders, Chino and Gio Cruz, the transition from a digital storefront to a brick-and-mortar space was an unexpected necessity. “Essentially, how the story goes is that we started—I started in 2017 after I left publishing,” one of the founders recounts. “I technically lost my job... so I had the time to open the business, and then I was doing pastries exclusively from 2017 onwards.”
What began as a humble passion project quickly gained momentum, largely thanks to the power of social media. “We were starting to pick up on Twitter and Instagram. So we really focused on that—just the two of us. And then during the pandemic, that's when it sort of picked up because everyone was doing online orders,” they share. But as the world transitioned back to in-person dining, Baker On East noticed a fundamental shift in consumer behavior. “When people had decided that, okay, we're going to eat out, we decided to really go eat out. So if we were going to continue the brand, we had to commit to a brick-and-mortar.” And so, a new era for Baker On East was born.
Finding the perfect location wasn’t easy. Chino and Gio initially wanted to set up shop in Quezon City, aiming to contribute to the area’s growing creative scene. However, practicality won over sentiment. “I was very adamant that we would do QC,” Chino explains. “But then Gio talked me into it—‘No, we can do QC, but first we have to establish ourselves somewhere where people go. And people go to Makati.’” The result? A serendipitous encounter with a long-vacant space in Salcedo, secured through a mix of timing, luck, and instinct.
At the heart of Baker On East’s success lies its crown jewel—the donuts. “Our core tenet is we want people to think of the space as a pastry bar,” they say. “The donuts are our hero product, but we also have a selection of desserts and pastries.” The viral success of their donuts came almost by accident, born from recipe development experiments shared on Twitter. “What I used to do was develop recipes and then send out the scraps or whatever I couldn’t eat. Random people started sliding into my DMs like, ‘Can I try the donuts?’ And then it just snowballed.”
But what sets these donuts apart? A commitment to unexpected, layered flavors. “We try to do very unique flavors—not for the sake of uniqueness, but because that's how I communicate and process flavors,” they explain. Take, for instance, the peach mango donut, infused with chrysanthemum, inspired by an ice cream flavor they encountered in Singapore. “We don’t want to be same-old, same-old. We want to give the product an opportunity to be familiar yet unexpected.”
As Baker On East grows, the challenge shifts from small-batch artistry to large-scale production. “We’re not actually small batch anymore,” they admit. “We have a team, a commissary, and commercial equipment now. It’s not just about making pastries anymore—it’s about logistics, scaling up, and maintaining quality.” And yet, despite the expansion, they remain rooted in their original ethos of creativity, community, and authenticity.
Speaking of community, the brick-and-mortar space has allowed Baker On East to cultivate a tangible, immersive experience for their customers. “I joke with my friends a lot that Baker On East is kind of like a black hole. People come for coffee and plan to leave, but they end up staying the whole day. Or they meet someone new and suddenly have dinner or drinks after,” they laugh. The space is not just a bakery—it’s a social hub, a meeting ground, and, above all, a place of connection.
Looking forward, there’s plenty in the pipeline. “We’re actually on soft opening. We have a lot of things rolling out—events, social activations, new products. We’re launching signature drinks, a matcha program, a sandwich collaboration. There’s so much to look forward to.” But for now, the focus remains on settling into their new home. “We’ve expended so much of our creative juice and energy just putting this thing up. Right now, we’re just happy to see all of the years of imagining this finally come to life.”
And so, as Manila’s pastry lovers continue to flock to Salcedo for their sugar-laced fix, one thing remains clear: the boys are now at the back street of Valero Plaza, and they’re here to stay.
