What really happened to Royal Baking Co. in the Excelsior? This 90-year-old San Francisco institution, steeped in history, faced devastating personal losses that nearly closed its doors forever. Yet, beneath its iconic mural, the ovens continue to fire. Can this beloved community legacy truly stage a full public comeback?
At 4773 Mission Street, the Royal Baking Company, a cherished Excelsior legacy, stands as a testament to perseverance, recently navigating profound personal tragedies that threatened its remarkable 90-year history. This San Francisco institution, famous for its artisanal breads and community connection, has endured despite appearances, with its ovens continuing to bake hundreds of loaves daily for distribution across the city, hinting at a potential public comeback.
The bakery’s facade, adorned with an iconic mural depicting The Last Supper, belies the complex reality behind its seemingly shuttered storefront. For decades, this imagery has watched over generations of customers drawn to Royal Baking Co. for their daily bread and pastries, a ritual deeply embedded in the Excelsior community’s daily life.
Three years prior, the vibrant storefront, once a bustling hub where neighbors gathered for coffee and baked goods, abruptly ceased its public operations. This closure followed the first of two heartbreaking events for the Nuno-Chavez family, when their 32-year-old son, poised to inherit the family business, tragically died in his sleep, casting a long shadow over the future of the Excelsior businesses.
The shadow deepened two years later with another immense family tragedy: the unexpected passing of the bakery’s owner and Nuno-Chavez’s husband, who died in the same manner. This left Nuno-Chavez to navigate a challenging and complicated transition, taking the reins of the Royal Baking Company during an unimaginable period of grief and uncertainty.
Despite these personal adversities, Nuno-Chavez, who had co-managed the business with her husband, Isaac Monroy, since 2012, steadfastly continued its operations. Even a two-year legal case, which was ultimately dismissed, added another layer of complexity to their already arduous journey before they married and ran the San Francisco food staple together for several more years.
Today, the beloved bakery operates primarily as a wholesale supplier, distributing its renowned Italian breads to numerous delis throughout San Francisco and Daly City, including notable establishments like Lucca Delicatessen in North Beach. Many local residents, assuming the bakery fell victim to broader economic downturns like COVID-19, are unaware of its continued, albeit less public, existence, highlighting the hidden local resilience of this historic enterprise.
The deep-rooted community legacy of Royal Baking Co. stretches back to 1925, when Italian immigrants founded it in North Beach. A decade later, the founders relocated their operations to the Excelsior, establishing the enduring presence that has defined the neighborhood’s culinary landscape for nearly a century.
When Isaac Monroy assumed control in the 1980s, he meticulously taught his wife the intricacies of the trade, evolving the wholesale operation and eventually reopening the retail “New Royal Bakery” storefront. Under their combined stewardship, it became a vibrant community fixture, offering a delectable array of loaves, Italian cookies, biscotti, and espresso drinks, alongside occasional churros.
The current, more discreet operational model maintains the Royal Baking Company’s heritage, but the dream of fully reopening the storefront for the Excelsior businesses and public once again is a powerful aspiration. This story of San Francisco food and a family’s determination against all odds underscores the bakery’s profound importance, suggesting that a full public return would not just be a commercial revival, but a testament to community spirit.
