A brand-new bakery in Nepean is attempting to do more than just serve coffee and pastries — it’s trying to rally a community and build a sense of home.

Beatriz Silva Mancilha Neves and Patrícia Silva Mancilha Neves Ferreira have brought a taste of Brazil to 2932 Baseline Rd., opening “That’s Bananas” what the sisters say is the city’s first Brazilian bakery this past January.

However, for the owners, the shop’s importance goes beyond food. 

“We wanted to make this a space where Brazilians got to feel a little bit at home,” said Patrícia, who first came to Canada to study sales before finding her way to the food industry.

“It’s important for us to keep our culture alive with the Brazilian community in Canada, because that was something I really missed when we first got here,” she said.

The idea for the bakery came together quickly. While Patrícia had always hoped to open up a place of her own, she did not have any business plans until recently when what began as a conversation in July 2025 became a business in six months.

“The idea started with my parents. They were talking to a friend that had some experience with the market in Brazil,” said Beatriz. “Then after Patty participated in a market and managed to sell out everything, she had this idea to open her own business. Then she talked to me and I saw it as an opportunity to also start my postgrad in Ottawa, and so I decided to join her.”

Patrícia says that she saw opportunity in Ottawa because of a lack of any Brazilian cuisine in the area. In fact, a look at census data for Ottawa shows the growing yet still-niche Brazilian population. In 2016, the census found 1,135 Brazilians, in 2021, that number doubled to 2,550 people.

To Patrícia, the growing community was a great sign for her dream of a bakery. For Beatriz, the bakery was an opportunity to work with her sister and be closer to her nephew in Canada. 

After the sisters decided to go ahead, Patrícia began looking for locations landing on their current spot in Nepean. 

“It took a little over six months to settle everything with the last owner and also with the building, but we got the place on Dec. 15 and tried to speed run everything because we wanted to open in January,” said Beatriz. 

The sisters met the target date and That’s Bananas opened Jan. 5. 

Now, a few months in, Patrícia’s vision of a welcoming space offering traditional Brazilian food such as coxinha, pastel and feijoada, is already taking shape.

In That’s Bananas, customers can find Brazilian baked goods, ready-made meals, popular Brazilian street food, a shelves stocked with Brazilian products that are typically hard to find and plans for cultural events from Brazilian-style pizza nights to live music and World Cup gatherings. 

“Brazilians like to cheer and be loud, especially for futêbol (soccer), so having a place for us to gather and be Brazilian is something we wanted to do with That’s Bananas,” said Patrícia. 

But as she has discovered, opening a bakery comes with challenges. 

“A typical day for me is crazy. I wake up, take my son to daycare, go to That’s Bananas, do everything I can possibly do there from opening until around 3:30 pm. Then I go and pick my son up and if needed, return to the bakery and work more,” said Patrícia. “Sometimes I’ll go to the market after and then go back home and stay with my husband. But it’s just chaos.”

Sourcing ingredients for authentic Brazilian food has come with unique challenges.

“The most difficult thing is definitely finding the right ingredients, since in Canada we don’t have everything that we may use on specific dishes from Brazil. We have a supplier that can get most of what we need but sometimes we can’t find everything. When that happens we either wait or try to find something close enough to replace it,” says Beatriz.

Even with these challenges, That’s Bananas has been receiving excellent reviews from Ottawa’s Brazilian community. 

“Everything is always fresh, flavourful, and made with so much care. The pastel was phenomenal and the coxinha was delicious,” says Laryssa Cruz, a Brazilian who first visited That’s Bananas back in January. “The sweets are authentic and delicious, and the savory options remind me of home.”

Other online reviews commonly talk about how authentic the food tastes. 

Rodrigo Alves wrote, “Feels just like home!!” and Letícia Oliveira called That’s Bananas the “perfect place to remember the food from Brazil!”

Patrícia says the support and positive reception from the Brazilian community has been very reassuring. Even non-Brazilians who have started trying out Brazilian food have had a positive experience. 

Both sisters say that the most rewarding thing so far has been the sense of accomplishment from That’s Bananas. “The feeling of ‘we did it’ was very strong,” they say.

As That’s Bananas continues into its first year, the sisters are building on their current momentum, hosting more events and continuing to introduce Ottawa to the flavours of Brazil while remaining as a cultural hub for Brazilians in Ottawa.

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