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.”

Born on the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, Lerias grew up on Chicago’s North Side. His culinary experience includes pastry chef positions at Lost Larson and Big Jones. At Del Sur, he dives deep into showcasing both his birthplace and Midwest upbringing.

“Del Sur has been the culmination of my life,” says Lerias, who recently turned 24. “I’m a quiet and introspective person, and I feel like my pastries are a very good indicator of who I am as a person and how I approach my career and my work.”

When it comes to Del Sur’s baked goods beyond those signature items, Lerias gave his small team of bakers one caveat: no basic pastries. “If we’re going to be a specialty bakery, let’s really ride that,” he says.

That means that for their version of a plain croissant, a toasted blend of Midwest-grown wild rice and Asian black rice is kneaded into the dough, giving it a light brown hue and nuanced flavors. Del Sur’s adobo brownie includes bay leaf-infused brown butter, soy sauce caramel, and pink peppercorns. The quintessential Midwestern pastry, the kringle, makes an appearance and paired with ube jam.

Croissant trimmings are repurposed as seasonal hand pies stuffed with fillings like caramelized onions and elote. Kolache will also be made with leftover dough. While hoping egg prices will drop, Lerais hopes to offer a kolache filled with sweet pork belly and an egg. Focaccia and a limited supply of sourdough bread loaves will also be offered.

Instead of almond croissants, Del Sur will initially feature a pumpkin seed version that’s filled with toasted pumpkin seed frangipane and utilizes day-old toasted rice croissants revived with salted pandan syrup. Besides breaking with tradition, it’s a way for Lerias to honor a friend who died at 16 from a nut allergy. “That really shapes how I approach allergies,” he says. “I feel — at least for the first six months of the bakery — I want her family to be able to come here.”

One item you won’t find at Del Sur is breakfast sandwiches: “Go to Loaf Lounge,” says Lerias. “They have my favorite ones.”

On the beverage side, Del Sur features local coffees from Four Letter Word for its espresso drinks and Ceramic Coffee Roasters for its drip. Chicago’s Volition Tea will supply the single-origin teas and matcha. Alternative milks won’t cost extra, says Lerias, who is lactose-intolerant.

Syrups, including flavors like salted pandan, dark mocha, and caramelized honey, will be made in-house, as will the chai. There’s a tamarind spritz made with matcha and tajin. Banana peels left over from the banana jam on Del Sur’s popular turon danish are being used to create a banana-flavored milk for a turon latte. “I’m always looking for ways to be sustainable as a business,” says Lerias.

Much of the equipment at Del Sur is secondhand, including the espresso machine, which came from Lincoln Square’s Side Practice. Del Sur’s interiors feature lime-washed walls, dark wood accents, and terra cotta floor tiles. An eye-catching vintage glass-and-wood case, an impulse buy from Andersonville’s Scout, sits on the marble counter and holds the freshly made pastries. A white linen curtain provides an ephemeral separation between the retail portion of the business and the larger kitchen.

On one wall, wooden shelves hold various products for sale from friends of Lerias, including chocolate bars from the Philippines with beans sourced from the same town as his father, Thai chili jams from Pink Salt Kitchen, and scented candles from Edgewater Candles (look for candles featuring Del Sur pastry scents soon). All items are either fair trade or single origin. Nearby are photos of Lerias’s family and friends.

Even the pastry boxes, the same faded green hue as the walls, hold surprises. Inside the boxes, illustrations of long bending lines are meant to mimic the layers of Del Sur’s laminated pastries. Once the pastries are removed from the box, the bakery’s motto, “Filipino Flavors, Midwestern Flair,” can be seen written on the bottom. On the outside, three petals are attached to a squiggly line representing Lerias’s mom and his two sisters.

For now, Del Sur is counter-service only, but Lerias is thinking about taking over the vacant neighboring space to add seating, which will solidify his dream of becoming a gathering place and community-focused bakery and cafe. Affirmation that the community supports Del Sur comes via a crowdfunding campaign via Honeycomb Credit in January that raised $40,000 in 24 hours and $80,000 by day four.

“Sure, we’re going to be serving good food and drinks, but to me, it’s more about how we impact the community,” says Lerias. “Community over competition is the biggest thing because if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder, you’re never going to grow.”

Del Sur, 4639 N. Damen Avenue, open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.