By David Taylor, Managing Editor
A small, obscure Mexican bakery in a strip center on Uvalde in North Shore exploded to popularity in October when their own creation became the talk of the country.
La Hacienda Bakery is located at 180 Uvalde Road and shares the non-descript building with several other small businesses including Mr. Gatti’s Pizza, the largest retailer in the strip center.
The bakery achieved notoriety when one of their customers posted on Tik Tok and Instagram their newest creation–a pumpkin sweetbread with a pumpkin spice filling, dusted on top with a pumpkin-type icing.
The video went viral and caught the attention of local news station ABC-13. It also caught the eye of producers at Good Morning America and the next thing you know, the little bakery was flooded with television media seeking the story of the unique concha-like creations.
“It was crazy having Good Morning America and ABC-13 News here in our restaurant. We are the only ones in the country making this that we know of,” said Denis Gonzalez, one of the workers at the bakery.
After the video went viral, pastry lovers across Harris County, the state, and country were trying to get their hands on the pumpkin delicacies.
“I start with the dough for the sweet bread first,” Gonzalez said. And as is the case in all good things, it takes awhile to rise. “The process is slowed down a bit because the dough has to rise about 45 minutes before baking,” he said.
Once the dough has risen, next comes the insertion of the special pumpkin spice. Bakers use a knife to make ridges in the dough to simulate a pumpkin and then the trays get slid into the oven to bake.
Once baked, they receive an orange icing top and a green stem to finish it off.
They became so popular that they extended their hours to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to accommodate the business.
“We had some this morning who saw the story on Good Morning America and drove here from Mississippi to try them out,” Gonzalez said surprised at the length of travel.
After the news came out, the parking lot was full most of the day and the store with a line all the way outside and down the sidewalk with customers wanting to try it out.
“We were making between 5,000 to 10,000 every day to keep up with the demand,” he said.
They also earned a new business, shipping pastries around the country.
“We’re going to keep making the fillings for these because that’s what everyone seems to like,” Gonzalez said.
Brenda Betancourt of North Shore said she’s a regular at the bakery picking up a variety of pastries. She and her partner first saw the delectable sweetbread on Tik Tok and decided to pick some up. Betancourt not only got several of the pumpkin bread delights, but also picked up a few other goodies along with it.
“I literally just got off work and came right here after work to pick some up,” she said.
Alejandro Hernandez says they have been in business for awhile and at least 13 years at their current location.
“My son-in-law came up with the recipe and now it has gone viral,” he said. “I wouldn’t have imagined this in my best dreams,” the owner said.
They began selling them on Oct. 1 and ended the run of the pumpkin delicacies on Oct. 31 after feeding a store full of customers all day.
Hernandez immigrated to the United States when he was 19 years old and has been here 45 years and is grateful for the business.
“We’re using a secret ingredient in the conchas that makes it so appealing,” he said. His son-in-law had been trying different spicey pumpkin flavors and made their own.
He wasn’t ready to give away the secret ingredient after it turned the county and the country upside down.
Workers say they will announce a new creation for the Christmas holidays so stand by.
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