OBRA HandBakery—the Latin American-centric bakery serving up some of the city’s best savory and sweet goods—has finally found a second home. And as with any Long Beach-birthed brand, that is worth celebrating.
“We had been searching for a new location,” said co-owner Luz Torres, who shares the space with Chef Cesar Villarreal. “And we finally found it. We signed the lease back in March and immediately started working on all the architectural and engineering plans. You know how long that process can take so we’re submitting everything to the city with the hope of receiving the approval to start construction by next week.”
The new OBRA HandBakery will be in Santa Ana.
The new location will be at MacArthur Boulevard and Main Street in Santa Ana—or what Luz happily describes as just a few blocks from South Coast Plaza and a couple of minutes from John Wayne Airport.
“It’s right next to Irvine and Costa Mesa, so it’s a strategic spot for us,” Luz said. “And we’re very excited about this new chapter in Orange County.”
The ultimate goal? If their construction timeline and city permitting stay on course, they will open in the summer.
Some confusion has been stirred—but fear not, OBRA is not leaving Long Beach.
Upon getting ready for construction, Luz and her team shared an update with a brief look at their new, very unfinished space in Santa Ana via social media. The response was immediate fear that the bakery’s flagship location would no longer exist.
“After that, we received a lot of direct messages—really: a lot,” Luza said. “All from people asking if we were leaving Long Beach, closing, or relocating.”
And those questions make sense: Marina Center, the small strip mall located at the southwest corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Loynes Drive, has had some tenant issues over recent years. This was highlighted by the abrupt closure of The Local Spot, with surrounding business owners saying the landlord has been hiking rents across the board.
“We’re staying here in Long Beach,” Luz said. “We love this location—it was our very first—and we’re committed to it. We also have a long-term lease agreement and a great relationship with the landlord, who personally visited, loved our concept, and appreciates the traffic and quality we bring to the center.”
For those who don’t know: What is OBRA HandBakery?
OBRA HandBakery isn’t just the go-to spot for baked empanadas in Long Beach—it’s the standard.
What started as Cesar’s Bistro back in 2014 was, at the time, one of the only places in the city introducing diners to Latin American food beyond the boundaries of Mexican cuisine. That alone was radical. But when the pandemic hit, the full-service model had to pivot—and hard. Luz and Chef Cesar didn’t just adapt; they reshaped the concept entirely. And from that shift came OBRA—and its empanadas.
Now? They’re pushing out more than just hot pockets of ropa vieja-filled goodness. These empanadas account for 65% of their sales and have helped OBRA go semi-viral, with a fiercely loyal following and holiday orders that come in by the hundreds. And not just ropa vieja. Cuban-style. BBQ pork. Jalapeño queso. And even a wildly good chicken curry version that started as a special but stayed by popular demand. You can grab ’em hot and ready or frozen to bake at home—and yes, they throw in two free with every dozen, because they understand community connection.
But Luz and Cesar aren’t the type to coast. They’ve long been eying expansion—because for them, growth isn’t a goal. It’s instinct. It’s heritage. And with everything from OBRA Balls to housemade sandwiches, cookies, pastries, and coffee, they’ve built something that’s worthy of expansion. And applause.
