This New Croissanterie Is Hidden Inside Another Restaurant

Tucked away inside all-day brunch spot Ruby’s Good Shoes lies a tiny French bakery with strikingly beautiful laminated pastries. The shop, aptly named La Croissanterie Denver, quietly debuted in July, but has recently gone viral thanks to Denver Food Scene. 

“I’m a little old school. I thought things would grow organically. I didn’t want to do social media, I didn’t advertise,” owner Patricia McKenna admits. “But after Denver Food Scene came in, we’ve been selling out every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

The question is, do the pastries taste as good as they look?

A Parisian Dream Come True

McKenna, originally from the Dominican Republic, is an electrical engineer by trade, but after being laid off from her job, she decided to pursue her long-held dream of opening a French bakery. 

“I told a friend of mine that I got laid off, and her reaction was like, ‘Congratulations! Maybe you can start working on that dream of opening a French bakery.’ I even forgot that I shared that with her,” McKenna recalls. “At the same time, Hasena [Williams], the owner of [Ruby’s Good Shoes], was working on opening…and I thought maybe we can partner and I can use some of the space to open my little French bakery counter.”

It took some convincing on McKenna’s part, but eventually Williams agreed to let her use the restaurant’s front alcove for her bakery, which would be inspired by her favorite cafe in Paris, the now-closed Colorova.

Finding the right pastry chef proved harder, though. She interviewed candidates for months, searching for someone with classical finesse and creative drive. After fruitless efforts, she decided to take another look at the stack of resumes, and that’s when she noticed chef Rafael de Jesus Rufino’s.

“When I looked at his resume again, I noticed his Instagram was on there and clicked on it,” she says. The page was adorned with gorgeous confections, exactly the kind she was looking for. “Immediately I thought, ‘This is the guy.’ Nobody else in Colorado was making pastries like that.”

From São Paolo to Denver

Rufino grew up in Brazil watching his mother bake bread for him and his four brothers. He remembers observing with fascination as the bread would transform from a small dough ball into a large loaf. But he truly fell in love with pastry at the age of seventeen after watching a video of chef Daniel Humm from New York’s Eleven Madison Park.

“I was in love with all the creations, the passion…I put in my mind that I need to come to the USA and meet [Daniel Humm], and see [Eleven Madison Park],” he shares.

And that’s exactly what he did. He began working in São Paulo, attending culinary school and training under the likes of chef Alex Atala, who leads the city’s two-Michelin-starred D.O.M. Eventually, Rufino saved enough to take his dream trip to New York, which included not just a visit to Eleven Madison Park but a week-long staging position there.

Then came a life-changing invitation to work alongside famed pastry chef Antonio Bachour in Miami. Rufino spent three years running Bachour’s viennoiserie team, sharpening his lamination skills and pushing the boundaries of pastry. It was at this time that two brothers came across Rufino’s work and convinced him to move across the country to Aspen and open a bakery. However, when the brothers’ plans fell through, Rufino found himself stranded in Colorado with his pregnant wife.

It was at that time that Rufino moved his family to Denver and found refuge at Reunion Bread, thanks to owner Ismael de Sousa. He eventually moved on to the Michelin-starred Beckon, where he worked on their pastry team before finally crossing paths with McKenna.

French Pastries with a Global Twist

While La Croissanterie Denver’s foundation is French, mainly featuring croissants and laminated dough, the menu reflects the global backgrounds and tastes of both its chef and owner as well as Rufino’s culinary pedigree and meticulous attention to detail – soft, flaky, buttery, decadent. 

“I like to bring Latino influences,” Rufino says. “Dulce de leche, Romeo & Juliet [a guava and cheese pastry from Brazil]. We made Golfeado once, a Venezuelan sweet roll. The guests love it.”

The shop doesn’t skimp on the fillings, either. The Dulce de Leche pastry, for instance, is stuffed to the brim with pure dulce de leche, never thinned with cream. And the flavored croissants – which include strawberry, chocolate, pistachio and more – are generously packed with rich centers.

“It’s not only Latin flavors,” McKenna, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, adds. “I love Asian flavors, African flavors…I love to travel, I’ve visited many places around the world, and I want all these influences that make the food interesting. Rafael really captures that.”

On the weekends, guests can also pick up baguettes, entremets and the Chef’s Whim special, where Rufino creates something completely unplanned and offers it just for the day. The shop also contributes to Ruby’s menu, making its baked items like biscuits and, of course, croissants for its sandwiches.

“Everything at La Croissanterie is mine, every recipe, every menu. It’s a lot of pressure, but it makes me so happy. I’ve never felt like this anywhere else,” Rufino shares.

For McKenna, she is grateful to have found the chef who is helping bring her vision to life. “Rafael has made my dream of owning a French bakery a reality,” she concludes.

La Croissanterie Denver is located inside of Ruby’s Good Shoes at 5405 East 33rd Avenue and is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information, follow it @lacroissanteriedenver on Instagram.