NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Valerio’s 1979 is a staple in San Diego’s Filipino community. It’s run by a family who credits the U.S. Navy for helping make their father’s American dream a reality.
The bakery’s roots were planted well before 1979 in Cavite City, Philippines, where Victor Valerio Sr. and his wife, Milagros, opened Cavite City Bakery. One of their nine children, Jaime, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and carried on the tradition of baking fresh pandesal from scratch in National City.
It was there that his parents joined him, and Valerio’s City Bakery was born in 1979 on E. 8th St., serving the Filipino American community and beyond. Today, some 46 years later, it’s known as Valerio’s 1979.
It started out as a dream, or in Jaime Valerio’s case, his Filipino American dream. Some may call it double-duty.
Valerio ran the bakery while serving in the U.S. Navy, where he climbed the ranks to Senior Chief Petty Officer Aviation Structural Mechanic for the Navy Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar, otherwise known as Top Gun.
In the bakery, it was all hands on deck with Valerio’s parents and children working behind the scenes.
His sons, Noel, Richard and Victor, recall spending most of their childhood in the restaurant, notably after school when they would help run the family business. When Senior Chief Valerio was deployed for months at a time, his wife, Gloria, ensured the business ran smoothly and customers were getting fresh-baked pandesal in the morning.
Valerio’s 1979 is known for crafting nostalgic Filipino dishes from scratch that remind the Filipino-American community of their motherland.
Along with baked goods, hot plates are also served in the traditional fast-food, “turo-turo” style, albeit homemade.
Valerio’s 1979 can now be found in Mira Mesa, Cerritos and San Jose. It’s important to note that some of Victor Valerio Sr.’s children also opened up their own Valerio’s shops in different parts of the U.S., making it a true family affair.
After the untimely death of Jaime Valerio in 2014, the reins were passed down to his three sons, who’ve vowed not just to keep the family business alive, but to ensure it thrives and continues to grow and impact the greater San Diego community.
Valerio’s legacy in the U.S. Navy is also being carried into future generations, as one of his grandsons is now training and hoping to become a Navy pilot one day.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
