The city approved permits Sept. 11 for the build-out of The Baker’s Son by Valerio’s, a Filipino bakeshop that hopes to open by Thanksgiving in the Atlantic North shopping center.
Accelerated Contractors LLC will build-out the 1,730-square-foot shell space and add a walk-in cooler at 11957 Atlantic Blvd., No. 101, at a cost of $445,344.
Also, Shark Signs of NE FL Inc. is providing and installing two wall signs at a cost of $4,600.
The center is at northwest Kernan and Atlantic boulevards.
Ariosto Valerio Jr., the grandson of the founder of California-based Valerio’s Tropical Bakeshop, said in July that he and his wife, Kathleen, own the Jacksonville location under the corporate name Valerio’s Bakehouse Inc.
“We believe that there’s a good opportunity for us to not only serve the growing Filipino population in Jacksonville but also introduce a wealth of Filipino baked goods made from scratch throughout the city,” he said previously by email.
Valerio described the business as a “made-from-scratch bakeshop that sells Filipino baked goods with pandesal (sweet dinner rolls) a Filipino staple being our most popular product,” he said by email.
Landlord Sleiman Enterprises shows the shop in 1,725 square feet of space in a corner next to Great Clips and Venetian Nail Spa.
The shop is across Atlantic Boulevard from Jollibee, the Filipino fast-food chain that opened in March 2017.
“I chose Jacksonville because I saw an opportunity to serve the Filipino community and overall the whole city and knowing the success of Jollibee had,” Valerio said.
He said he and his wife solely own The Baker’s Son and have ownership with his father in seven Valerio’s Tropical Bakeshops.
Valerio said there are 12 Valerio’s Tropical Bakeshop locations in California and one each in Nevada, Washington, Illinois, Hawaii and Ontario.
Valerio served in the U.S. Navy from 1996-2000, although not in Jacksonville.
“Being that there is a huge Navy population there suits me as well as it did in the West Coast where I was stationed” in San Diego, he said.
The Valerios, who have five sons ages 6 to 20, intend to live part-time in Jacksonville, where they bought a house.
