Baking Mama founder Tina Rivera opens Filipino bakery Sinta in Downtown Jersey City

Filipino-born baker Tina Rivera, founder of Hoboken's Baking Mama, has soft opened Sinta, a Filipino-rooted bakery at 240 Newark Street in Downtown Jersey City. The case features ube cookies, leche flan, cassava cake and silvanas.

Filipino-born baker Tina Rivera, the founder of Hoboken's Baking Mama, has opened Sinta, a Filipino-rooted bakery at 240 Newark Street in Downtown Jersey City. Hoboken Girl reported that Sinta Bakery soft opened at the end of October, and Hoodline said the shop marks Rivera's first storefront dedicated specifically to Filipino-rooted baking.

Sinta means "love" in Tagalog. Hoboken Girl said the bakery sits in the former Metropolis Music space, a place where Rivera's children took music lessons, and that visitors to this year's All About Downtown Street Fair may already have had a taste test ahead of the storefront debut.

What is in the case

Hoodline described a bakery case at Sinta filled with Filipino-inspired treats:

• Ube cookies
• Leche flan
• Cassava cake
• Silvanas, made with cashew meringue wafers and buttercream

Hoboken Girl said Rivera had already brought those flavours from her Filipino upbringing into Baking Mama, calling silvanas a childhood favourite.

From banking to baking

Rivera started baking in 1994, a few months before her son was born, and developed her skills through classes in the Philippines, including with Sylvia Reynoso Gala and Chocolate Lovers in Cubao, according to Hoboken Girl. After moving to the United States, she continued baking for family, friends and her church community while working a full-time corporate job.

She and her husband, Dominic, began selling her French macarons at fairs and markets. Their son attended Stevens Institute of Technology, and on a visit the couple spotted the space at 88 Hudson Street in Hoboken that became Baking Mama in December 2015. Hoboken Girl describes Baking Mama as a family-owned, AAPI- and woman-owned business; one of Rivera's holiday cookies was named "Hallelujah It's Raining Mint!" on The Drew Barrymore Show.

Another Jersey City shop on the way

Baking Mama also has a Jersey City Heights location planned for 333 Palisade Avenue, which Hoboken Girl first reported in June 2026. Hoodline said there is no official opening timeline for that shop yet. Sinta posts updates on Instagram as @sintajc.

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