Explore Uruguay by way of Italy at this unique Tacoma bakery, now in a new location

Cristina Arreche was raised in Uruguay, but her family has roots in the Calabrian region of Italy and Basque Country, which straddles France and Spain. She relays that heritage in the pastry case of her humble Old Times Bakery on the border of two Pierce County cities.

The unusual collection offers an opportunity to explore treats that are rare in this corner of the country. Take the massini, thought to have been conjured in 1950s Uruguay by a Spanish immigrant, in which layers of soft, barely-sweet sponge cake sandwich a spread of supple meringue. Yet the star lies on top, where your fork first hits a blanket of sugar reminiscent of crème brûlée.

Better ingredients make better baked goods, Arreche told me when we talked in May at her new café in University Place. She listed them off: “Real butter, real milk, real eggs, real meat.”

This particular cake eschews butter, but her alfajores, to which Uruguay’s neighbor, Argentina, also lays claim, do not.

“I’ll tell you one secret,” said Arreche, leaning gently across the table. “I use real butter.”

The dough of this cookie is doused with cornstarch, creating a gentle texture that crumbles pleasantly as you bite the two rounds that enrobe a cascade of dulce de leche — surprisingly not too sweet — all rolled in just a bit of dried coconut.

That subtlety adorns most every selection at Old Times Bakery, which opened in 2019 at the crest of the Pacific Avenue hill in Tacoma, just south of 34th Street. For almost four years, Arreche attracted those who overlooked the shop’s simple facade to discover the aforementioned specialties as well as tiramisu, German chocolate and lemon curd cake, savory piroshky and South American-style pizza.

She closed that location in early 2022 as it grew tenuous for her early-morning hours, she said. Fortunately, she soon found a bigger space that, by chance, was nearer to her family’s home in University Place.

The new Old Times debuted in February at 5502 Orchard St. W., off 56th Street. (Look for the 7-Eleven and Antojos Mexican Grill.) The corner unit was previously a Subway, she noted, but it had been vacant for a handful of years, so it needed a floor-to-ceiling refresh.

While offline for 18 months, much of it dealing with requirements of the city and county, Arreche posted sporadic updates to the business’s Facebook page, her only online presence. Many of her customers have followed her to UP, and the high-traffic intersection has afforded fresh faces.

The menu is mostly the same, said the baker, but more kitchen space has proffered more cake flavors and the ability to take larger custom orders. She recently completed a request for 500 cinnamon and coconut rolls.

“Everything is homemade,” she said. “You taste something here, you can feel like your grandma made it.”

Arreche, who recently became a grandmother herself, learned to bake with her nonna, she recalled, who emigrated to South America some time after World War II. Uruguay, one of the smallest countries on the continent with just 3.5 million residents, had attracted both Italian and Spanish immigrants in the 19th century, but Arreche said in her memory it was not uncommon to see Greek, Armenian and Russian influence, too. The variety you see at Old Times is “normal for us,” she added. Perhaps her 15-plus years in Miami before moving to Tacoma also plays a part.

After tiring her family with her at-home baking obsessions, they encouraged her to spread the love.

Her daughter, Nicole, other relatives and at least one unrelated employee assist her in the front-of-house, she said, but when it comes to the kitchen, it is always Arreche’s work.

“So you don’t have an assistant baker?” I asked, adding gently, “Do you trust them?”

“Eh,” she paused for one flat second. “No,” she said pointedly. “I told you: I love what I do.”

The shop is noticeably no-frills, with handwritten signs on the walls and in the case, where cafeteria-style trays hold a few pastries at a time. Don’t let that deter you. Try a Napoleon, one or several of the turnovers, including the popular guava and cheese, tiramisu and a slice of cake. Order a cannoli and she will fill it with hardly-sweet-at-all ricotta on the spot. Definitely have a piroshki — generously stuffed with cheese and spinach, beef or chicken and bacon, the crust sprinkled with parmesan — warmed up to eat in the car; get extra for friends or for tomorrow.

OLD TIMES BAKERY - UNIVERSITY PLACE

▪ 5502 Orchard St. W., University Place, 253-302-3353, facebook.com

▪ Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

▪ Recommended: massini, guava turnover, cake by-the-slice, coconut roll, piroshki

▪ Special Orders: call or visit to place large orders, whole cakes, mini versions of sweet and savory items