Indulge Upon the Fabulous Filipino Pastries at This New Lincoln Square Bakery

Eater Chicago / by Lisa Shames / March 27, 2025

While most don’t spend high school meticulously planning the future, that’s exactly what Justin Lerias did and he has the handwritten journal entries to show for it. Almost a year to the day after signing the lease and eight years since putting pen to paper, Lerias has finally opened Del Sur.

The 1,200-square-foot space in Lincoln Square is located next to the CTA’s Brown Line Damen stop. Lerias’s creative Filipino American baked goods — calamansi chamomile buns, turon danishes (in the tradition of sweet lumpias), ube oatmeal sandwich cookies, and longanisa-filled croissants — were born from an experimental pandemic home project that evolved to pop-ups and later at a more permanent home at Side Practice Coffee, the Filipino-inspired coffeeshop across from Amundsen High School in Ravenswood. Side Practice is owned by entrepreneur Francis Almeda, who’s also invested in Kanin and Novel Pizza Cafe. He’s also an investor in Del Sur, Lerias prefers to call him an advisor versus a co-owner. Almeda has played a big role in helping Lerias’s solo pastry career, including providing a home for his pastry pop-ups. Almeda, who constantly bounces around town working on projects, acts as an “investor advisor” at Del Sure, says Lerias. “Francis is too important in our little universe to force him to be in one space like he would if he was a partner here.” Read More Here.