Brothers Andy and Fredy Granados opened Grano Panadería and Café in Back of the Yards earlier this year. The shop combines traditional Mexican flavors with their first-generation Chicago roots.

“It’s important to pay respects to where we come from but also bring another element to what we offer as well because it’s coming from our own experiences,” Andy Granados said.

“I want people when they come in to feel, like, this refreshing, cool, new take on panaderías, something new for the area,” Fredy Granados said.

Traditionally, panaderías, known as bakeries, offer a variety of baked goods for customers to grab and go. The brothers are adding their modern take by including a bakery in their cafe where they make their own sweet bread.

“We’re also trying to integrate the American culture of coffee so we’re doing the pumpkin spice horchata,” Fredy Granados said. “So a big thing about our space, too, is we’re trying to do a fusion, even with our bread.”

“With the bread, we’re obviously doing the traditional conchas, bolillos, teleras,” Andy Granados said, “but we’re also doing, like, cake doughnuts, red velvet cake doughnuts. You don’t see that in your typical panadería.”

Doughnut glazes, including a horchata flavor, are made in house.

The brothers grew up in the neighborhood, where they now help run their family’s businesses. Their parents have owned a liquor and grocery store in the area since the ‘90s. When a space next to the store became available, the brothers seized the opportunity to set up shop.

“I knew we were going to do it, and we just did it,” Fredy Granados said. “I think that’s a big philosophy of my mom’s, too, to just do it. … That’s been all of our lives, especially going into business with my parents, just figuring out all the financials, figuring everything out by yourself.”

Their mother, Emma Granados, said it was her father who inspired her to put down roots and start a business when the family migrated to Chicago.

The family said thanks to city grants, they have since renovated their grocery and liquor stores, and helped kickstart the coffee shop. The brothers said this move is providing them opportunities to continue to grow in the neighborhood.

“My mom knows generations of people coming into our grocery store and our liquor store as well, and it’s something that I’m glad to be a part of,” Andy Granados said.

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