From Mexico City to Central Oregon: A Bakery Blends European Craft with Mexican Heritage
M’s Bakery hums with activity from the moment it opens at 7 a.m. Guests and passersby watch bakers laminating dough and cutting croissants in the open production space. A line stretches to the door. Families, couples and groups of friends eat avocado toast topped with roasted pepitas and microgreens or breakfast sandwiches with chimichurri aioli at indoor and outdoor tables. It’s not uncommon for pastries to sell out daily.
“It’s still such a dream; I can’t believe it,” said Dario Muciño, who owns and operates the bakery with his wife, Macy Davis. Muciño grew up in Mexico City and went to culinary school in Mexico.
M’s uses only high-quality ingredients, including organic, easier-to-digest flour from a specialty mill in Eugene and real butter and eggs. Filling the shelves are golden loaves of sourdough bread flecked with Castelvetrano olives and frosted cinnamon rolls. The bakery also serves a machaca burrito (machaca is a dry, shredded beef from northern Mexico) and a guajillo Caesar salad.
“The vision was to create a bakery that had European-style breads, but the heritage of my background,” said Muciño.
The two met in Arizona while employed with the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North. Muciño was working in the kitchen, and Davis was working at the pool. The experience taught them about hospitality at the highest level.
After the couple moved to Orange County, Muciño realized he had a passion for fermentation and making sourdough bread. “The idea of sourdough was interesting to me because it felt different compared to popular breads in Mexico,” said Muciño.
They rented a commercial kitchen space and started a bakery in 2020. The goal was always to open a brick-and-mortar bakery, but because of the competitiveness of retail in Orange County, no lender wanted to take a chance on a mom-and-pop shop. Looking back, the couple says it was a sign they might be happier elsewhere. After visiting friends in Bend, they could see themselves enjoying Central Oregon’s fresh air and beautiful rivers and decided to move in October 2023. They began selling bread at farmers markets and wholesale, then opened the bakery in the Old Mill District in March 2025. They welcomed their second child just a month later in April. “We feel like we got hit by a train a little bit,” said Davis, laughing.
It’s hard to believe the corner space with big windows and high ceilings used to be a Jimmy John’s. “We wanted [the design] to be very clean and simple,” said Davis of imagining the space.
The couple worked with Blue Forty Architecture’s founder, Alex Collins, and Bigfoot Contracting’s Todd Ashley to turn it into a space that would be at home in Mexico City, with clay walls and Indigenous and colonial design inspiration.
The Heath Ceramics Geyser Green tile that lines the bakery counter and serves as a focal point on one wall reminded Davis of the earthy, natural tones of Bend, but she knew it wasn’t within their budget. So she emailed the company. They loved Muciño’s immigrant story and were willing to work with them. “[The tile] helped make the space come to life,” said Davis.
The rustic red Alcazar tile in the bathroom was made just outside San Miguel de Allende, where Muciño and Davis were married and plan to retire one day. The textile artwork above the water station was created by a third-generation Mexican sheep and wool farming family.
This fall, visitors will spot even more ties to Mexico at the bakery, including a selection of Mexican wines, chocolate from Chiapas and pan de muerto—a sweet bread traditionally made for Day of the Dead celebrations, which will be available throughout October.
By the end of the year, Muciño and Davis plan to launch afternoon breadmaking classes in the production space, creating connections one loaf at a time. “We want people to bake in the space that we bake in,” said Davis, “so it feels genuine and authentic.”
See more about M’s Bakery in Our Dining Guide or visit the M’s Bakery website.
