Bringing the booty back into buns

José Rojas with his signature Booty Buns

By Alyssa Galella

If you tell someone you’re going to the Big Booty Bread Co., on 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, you’ll probably get a funny look. Owner José Rojas, 28, is used to it. But this two-year-old bakery with bright green and orange walls and leopard-print stools is a favorite among many Chelsea residents, who flock to the place for the only derriere-shaped breads in the city. This isn’t surprising, especially because friendly Rojas, a first-generation Colombian-American, is always willing to chat with customers—or reporters.

I have to ask, how did you come up with the name Big Booty Bread Co.?

My sister came up with the name, because everyone makes fun of me because of my big butt. At the beginning, my parents just shook their heads, but now they’re totally cool with it. Customer service people crack up on the phone when I say the name.

I noticed passers-by seem to enjoy the giant logo of the man sticking out his booty in the front window, too. Is the picture of you?

Yeah, it’s me. My friend who’s an artist drew it. I had to pose like that for 45 minutes.

I heard you used to be a Wall Street finance guy. Is it true?

I studied finance at Tulane, and I was all set to be Mr. Wall Street. Math was always my first passion, but I found that corporate life was not for me. I need more interaction with people. But my finance background does help with running my own business.

So, what made you decide to open a bakery?

I come from a bakery family. My dad and mom opened the Don Ricky Colombian Bakery in Elizabeth, N.J., 27 years ago. I hated working there when I was a kid, but that’s where I learned everything. Almost all the recipes I use are from my parents, Ricky and Teresa. They usually come every Sunday and help me out, because that’s the only time we get to see each other.

You don’t even have time to see your family?

I dedicate everything to the bakery. It’s like having a little baby. I’m here for three or four hours in the morning and then usually from 4 p.m. until closing at nine. I only have two employees, and they’re both my cousins. It’s hard when you’re just trying to survive.

How do you have time for a social life?

I don’t have a social life! I live just a block away, and sometimes I feel like I spend my whole life on this block. Everyone’s going out this weekend, but I’d rather save the money and buy a new mixer for the bakery. When I get a new spatula, I’m like, “Yay!”

Do you cook at home at all?

Not anymore. My two roommates cook, and sometimes I cook on the weekends. But I bake everything fresh here every morning and give away the leftovers at the end of the day. There’s one old lady who always comes in for my croissants. I think that’s all she eats.

Do you make a lot of traditional Latin foods, because of your heritage?

Definitely. I have things like the dulce de leche [caramel] cupcake, arepas [corn pancakes], tres leches [a rich, milky coconut cake], and pastries filled with guava. My best-selling bread is the cheese rock, or pan de yuca, which is cheese bread made with yuca flour or corn flour. A lot of people like it because it’s naturally gluten-free, since South Americans don’t cook with so much white flour. I also take pride in my coffee, because I’m Colombian. I order it from a special coffee park in Medellín, Colombia.

What’s your favorite food that you make?

I can’t decide—it changes every day. But my new red velvet cupcake has been really successful. I use beet juice instead of red dye, and some people say it’s like an orgasm in a cupcake. I made 400 of them for Valentine’s Day—I baked until 3 a.m. and then came back at 6 a.m. and made some more. But it’s really gratifying for me to see the smiles on people’s faces when they’re eating something I made. It’s the ultimate gratification. It keeps me going.

Do you have any plans to expand?

Hopefully someday there will be a Big Booty Bread Co. in every neighborhood. I try to keep it a “mom and pop” shop, but it’s hard to compete with Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. A lot of people from the neighborhood come in every day. Once they try it, they’re hooked on the Booty.