Red Ribbon Bakeshop has closed its San Antonio bakery, ending the Filipino bakery chain's presence in Texas entirely. The closure came to light after a local Filipino Facebook community member spotted a handwritten closure announcement taped to the bakery's door earlier this month, with no formal explanation from the company.
The San Antonio location, which sat at 8403 Highway 151, closed with no public statement, according to CultureMap San Antonio. Red Ribbon's own opening announcement in 2023 also listed the store's address as 8403 Highway 151 in the Shops at Westpointe retail complex. After Red Ribbon's two Houston stores shut down in 2024, San Antonio was left as the chain's only Texas outpost — a title it held until this closure.
Beyond the handwritten sign, the signals were quiet but unmistakable. Red Ribbon disconnected the San Antonio bakery's phone number, disabled the store's web page, and updated its Google Business profile, the outlet reported. The company has not issued a formal statement explaining the shutdown, and its corporate office did not immediately return CultureMap's request for more information.
A Milestone Opening That Didn't Last
The San Antonio bakery's run was relatively brief. It opened on May 27, 2023, marking Red Ribbon's third Texas location and its 40th store nationwide at the time, according to a Jollibee Group announcement. Jollibee Group described the opening as part of its broader growth plans across North America, and the company had planned additional new locations beyond its 40 U.S. units at the time.
Texas was actually home to Red Ribbon stores before San Antonio ever got one. The chain's first Texas location opened in Houston in October 2014, and a second Houston storefront followed in 2022. Both Houston bakeries closed in 2024, with the last one — at 8001 S. Main St. — serving its final day on December 15 of that year, per the Houston Chronicle.
From a Quezon City Cake Shop to a Global Chain
Red Ribbon's roots trace back decades before any of its Texas stores existed. Amalia and Renato Mercado started the business as a small cake shop in Quezon City in 1979, and the brand's cake recipes came from Teresita Moran, according to CultureMap San Antonio. The chain later expanded into the United States, opening a location in West Covina, California, in 1984.
Jollibee acquired Red Ribbon in 2005, folding the bakery chain into its broader food empire. Red Ribbon now counts more than 500 locations worldwide, known for moist cakes like Mango Supreme and Ube Overload, along with dedication cakes for birthdays and anniversaries, plus pastries including mamon and ensaimada.
Conflicting Counts on U.S. Locations
Exactly how many U.S. stores Red Ribbon has left depends on who you ask. CultureMap reported that the chain has retracted from 40 U.S. locations down to 32, mostly in California, while Red Ribbon's own website lists 33 U.S. bakeshops. The discrepancy between those two counts has not been resolved.
Jollibee's San Antonio Ambitions Remain Just Plans
Even as Red Ribbon exits the market, its parent company has floated big plans for San Antonio under its other brands. Jollibee announced in May that it was considering adding up to 15 new San Antonio-area locations, and by August the company said it had identified roughly 14 areas with immediate development potential, according to 1851 Franchise. That outlet reported Jollibee executives were eyeing neighborhoods around Joint Base San Antonio.
Still, nothing about that expansion is locked in. A CultureMap report noted that a Jollibee representative did not provide a timeline for the plans when asked, leaving the scope and pace of any future San Antonio growth an open question even as the Red Ribbon brand disappears from the city it once called home.
