New bakery on McHenry Avenue in Modesto will have around 165 menu items
I fear I have underestimated a business that will soon open in Modesto.
I saw that 85°C Bakery — a chain of 1,000-plus stores that originated in Taipei City, Taiwan, in 2004 — put signage up on a unit in the Walmart shopping center on McHenry Avenue. I thought, “Cool, we’re getting another bakery.”
But it wasn’t until I visited the Stockton location on Tuesday, March 31, that I realized what was in store for the community.
During a visit to a café in a five-star hotel, 85°C Bakery founder Cheng-Hsueh Wu realized that the prices of gourmet pastries and drinks were set too high for people to enjoy on a whim, according to the 85°C Bakery website. Wu decided to open a café that provides premium coffee, bread and cake at affordable prices.
Generally, 85°C Bakery breads and pastries are in the $2 to $4 range. Cake slices are around $4 each and coffee and tea drinks range from $3.70 to $6.55.
The name 85°C Bakery comes from the idea that the perfect brewing temperature for espresso coffee is 85 degrees Celsius, the website says.
An employee told me the Modesto store, at 3848 McHenry Ave, Suite 180, will likely open the third week of April.
85°C Bakery’s large menu will satisfy any sweet (or savory) tooth
I have little to no restraint when I’m presented with a large selection of delicious-looking food options. 85°C Bakery has around 165 items (including pastries, cakes and drinks) on its online menu, and I saw the majority of those items when I visited.
You could say I was like a kid in a candy store.
I really had to limit myself since the pastries are displayed grab-and-go style, making it far too easy to get carried away.
I got “only” 11 pastries, one panna cotta and one slice of cake, for a total of $42.35. The most expensive thing I bought was the mango panna cotta for $5.60.
The rest of my order was: walnut raisin multigrain mini loaf ($3.60), garlic cheese bread ($2.50), spicy sausage pastry ($2.90), bacon and cheese pastry ($2.95), Hawaiian chicken pastry ($3.25), cheese hot dog pastry ($2.50), spinach danish ($2.85), guava cheese pastry ($2.30), strawberry matcha bun ($3.25), coconut custard roll ($3.50), two-piece 85°C roll ($2.40) and a slice of mango cheesecake ($3.60).
My colleagues tell me 85°C Bakery has amazing coffee drinks, but as a no-caffeine drinker, I had to take their word for it.
When the Modesto location opens in a few weeks, I will be one of the first people in line to try some of the other items I had my eye on, including the potato croquettes, pesto chicken sandwich and coconut snow cubes.
This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 10:35 AM.
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