Transgender Fil-Am to open LGBTQ bakeshop in Illinois

Jenne Vailoces. DNAINFO

LAKEVIEW, Illinois — A Filipino American transgender woman who was raised as a boy in the Philippines will soon open a Filipino American bakery that will always welcome people like her within the LGBTQ community.

Jenne Vailoces, 33, and living in West Rogers Park, Illinois, will open Jennivee’s Bakery at 3301 N. Sheffield Ave. soon as a late-night bakery and dessert cafe offering cakes like a Ferrero Rocher mousse or ube butter cream, reports DNAinfo.com.

She said news of bakeries refusing to serve wedding cakes to same-sex couples first inspired her idea to open a bakery designed to welcome those who would be shunned elsewhere.

“I want this to be the bakery that the LGBT people in Chicago can proudly call their own,” Vailoces told DNAinfo.com. “My No. 1 passion is baking, and I’m a transgender woman who is also very passionate about trans and LGBT issues. So I wanted to share a part of (both) my passions.”