Third Culture Bakery—home of the Mochi Muffin—is coming to San Francisco this year. What Now San Francisco has obtained real estate intel stating that the Berkeley-bred mochi bakery has secured a space at 1186 Valencia St. in the Mission.
Founded in 2016 by chef Sam Butarbutar and Wenter Shyu, Third Culture Bakery is inspired by the duo’s upbringings in a culture different from that of their parents. An amalgamation of their respective childhoods in Indonesia and Taiwan, their offerings include Mochi Muffins, butter mochi donuts, and other foods and drinks.
In the beginning, Third Culture Bakery was a two-man-show offering their Mochi Muffins to just six wholesale coffee shops. But through word of mouth and a growing cult following, operations expanded into more than 60 wholesale locations and a dedicated team of over 20 bakers, managers, delivery drivers, and retail members in the span of two years.
In 2018, they opened the West Berkeley Showroom, Third Culture Bakery’s origin store which sells their entire pastry lineup, plus mochi waffles and matcha beverages. Since then, they’ve also opened a matcha-centric cafe in Walnut Creek and now, it appears they have something cooking up in San Francisco.
Shyu confirmed the news with What Now San Francisco, adding that they just got the keys last week. Next on the to-do list is to submit plans for the space, which Shyu says will be a “dreamy” refresh for the design and concept of what will be their new flagship store. He projects that they will be ready to unveil what this looks like by early fall at the latest. Stay tuned.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated following a phone call with Shyu, who has confirmed that Third Culture Bakery is indeed opening a shop in San Francisco.
Their product is original and incredible. Be very happy to welcome them to the Mission, saving me a trip to Berekeley!