CAO Bakery is bringing its Cuban coffee and pastelitos back in a bigger way to Pembroke Pines, with a second neighborhood spot headed for Taft Street. The Miami-born cafe plans to move into the former Char-Hut at 12221 Taft St., filling a familiar vacancy in the area. Once it opens, the new shop will join CAO's existing Pembroke Pines location on University Drive.
As reported by Pembroke Pines News, CAO shared the expansion in an Instagram post on Wednesday and told followers to "stay tuned" for ventanita favorites like croquetas, pastelitos, empanadas and coladas. The outlet noted that no opening date had been set as of publication.
According to CAO's website, the brand, whose initials stand for Cuban American Original, opened its first Pembroke Pines cafe at 2060 N. University Drive in 2022 and already maintains online ordering for a Taft Street location. The site shows a menu built around quick breakfast plates, sandwiches and traditional Cuban pastries, geared to both dine-in and to-go customers.
Local10 reported that Char-Hut closed its Pembroke Pines outpost in 2025 after roughly 30 years, leaving the Taft Street storefront up for grabs and sending longtime regulars in search of a new neighborhood hangout.
What to expect at the Taft Street outpost
Customers can likely count on the chain's ventanita staples, including cafecito, colada, croquetas and pastelitos, alongside heartier sandwiches such as the Mediodia, a guava-and-cheese pastry turned ham-and-Swiss sandwich that has become a CAO signature. Online ordering pages for the Taft Street address on CAO Bakery list a mix of pastries, breakfast plates and catering trays, suggesting the new spot will follow the company's fast-casual, to-go friendly approach.
A modern spin on a family bakery
The brand was founded by third-generation Cuban baker Tony Cao and longtime friend Carlos De Varona as a modern offshoot of the family's Vicky Bakery. The pair told GrowBiz in 2021 that they converted several Vicky locations into next-generation cafes with Wi-Fi and fast-casual service. That approach has helped CAO expand beyond Miami into Broward and other Florida markets over the last few years.
For now, CAO has not announced an official opening date, so neighbors and CAO fans are keeping an eye on the bakery's social channels for word on a ribbon-cutting. We will update this space when the company shares more details about hours and the grand opening.
