Juan Lopez, a San Diego baker who first fell hard for pastry while watching Ina Garten on TV, has quietly rolled out Poppy Bakeshop, a weekend pop-up that has started staking out space at Liberty Station. By the time the sun is barely up, tables are already filling with French-inspired, Mexican-leaning pastries, from laminated croissants to colorful seasonal cakes and a plum cornbread that is quickly turning into the talk of the table. Lopez says the pop-up is his way to experiment with menus, build a following and eventually lock down a permanent storefront in San Diego.
Lopez launched Poppy in June and, as reported by San Diego Magazine, the pop-up shows up most weekends starting around 7 a.m. and runs until about 12:30 p.m., or until everything is gone, whichever comes first. The pastries lean French in technique but skew Mexican in flavor, with a menu that rotates by season and even by color. Lopez told the magazine he pulls ideas not just from pastry kitchens but from less obvious places like fashion. “The ultimate goal is to get a storefront,” he said, adding that Normal Heights is his dream neighborhood.
Moniker General's event calendar lists Poppy Bakeshop as a recurring pastry pop-up on Saturday and Sunday mornings at its Liberty Station outpost, backing up the weekend schedule and the bake-sale energy for those who are up early enough. The steady weekend crowds at the venue, plus nearby markets, help explain why Lopez keeps the hours tight and is content to sell until the trays are cleared.
Before bringing his bakes back home, Lopez put in time in Michelin-level kitchens. His résumé includes work at Roland Passot’s La Folie in San Francisco, followed by stints at Con Pane Rustic Breads, Herb & Wood and Hommage Bakehouse, according to the profile. He also continues to work part-time at Wayfarer Bread & Pastry while he grows Poppy, the San Diego Magazine feature notes.
From Pop-Up To Storefront
Pop-ups have become a go-to way for San Diego bakers to test recipes and build loyal customers before signing a lease. Eater San Diego has documented how weekend markets and coffee-shop takeovers, the same kind of circuit Lopez is tapping into, helped other bakeries level up into full-time storefronts, giving Poppy a tried and true playbook.
For now, Poppy is turning up most weekends at Moniker in Liberty Station and is already drawing a steady flow of early birds. Lopez plans to add more dates and team up with other local makers as he keeps working toward that Normal Heights storefront.
