La Popular Bakery is an oft-passed-over piece of the Cuban sandwich history jigsaw puzzle. Nicanor Martinez bought the Diana Bakery at 1425 Garcia Avenue around 1935 and renamed it La Popular- also the name of a mutual aid society and clinic- moving his operation from 1934 Main Street in West Tampa. The company only baked Cuban bread, manufacturing thousands of loaves a week, baking four times daily, and shipping them locally and to the west coast of Florida via train and bus. The bread was sold chiefly to restaurants, hotels, and sandwich stands. In 1935, there were over two dozen bakeries, most members of the Latin Bakers Assn., making those long delicious loaves. In 1951, the bakery burned to the ground. Martinez rebuilt anew, and this photograph from Tampa Photo Supply shows the new facility.

Sadly, Martinez was shot and killed in his home in 1965, allegedly planned by his stepson Jose Manuel Sosa. The assassin, Richard Greene, also shot Sosa’s mother, who died the next day. Both Sosa and Greene were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The bakery closed with his death. The land is now part of the extensive Heights Project, including the Armature Works development, and the building is long gone. While his death is tragic, we can keep the memory of his contribution to the Cuban sandwich legacy alive by remembering him and the La Popular bakery.

© 2022. Chip Weiner. Old Tampa Photos