TAMPA, Fla. — Thursday marked 109 years since La Segunda Bakery opened their doors in the Tampa Bay area to share a taste of Cuban bread.

Over the years they’ve expanded to other locations but their signature taste hasn’t changed.

More than 20,000 loaves of bread are made daily at La Segunda Bakery. It’s been their specialty for the past 109 years.

Every day in the bakery is a labor of love for Bryant Valdez.

“It’s something I do every day, I thrive, and I just thank God for waking me up every day to make this bakery better,” he said.

He’s dedicated more than 40 years to the bakery, but his dedication goes back generations to when the bakery first opened in 1915.

It was established by Juan More, an immigrant from Cuba who, after fighting in the Spanish American war, wanted to pursue his dream of establishing a bakery.

Four generations later and his recipe is still being made today.

“We got a variety of bread, we have 18 inch bread also we have Cuban bread, over here with the historical long loaf we’re making up to 5,000 loafs a day,” said Valdez.

He says it’s a process that takes a lot of people to get to the final loaf.

From the shaping of the bread to the oven, Bryant says it’s helping him stay connected to his Cuban roots.

“Bread was important to them," he said. "They basically formed bread there, but we took it to another level."

It started with a dream of owning a bakery, and it’s now expanded to four locations in Florida.

Bryant says it’s more than a job for him — it’s helping to preserve La Segunda’s history.

“The consistency makes this better and makes it better for all of us, and I’m fighting to keep it constant,” he said.

Bryant said he hopes more people will continue to share their love of the Cuban bread for generations to come.

If you haven’t made it out to one of La Segunda’s bakeries, it is offering a $7 Cuban sandwich special to celebrate its anniversary.