Leslye Rangel has come a long way from her childhood days going door-to-door selling Mexican pastries with her mom. 

Now, her family’s East Harris County bakery has tripled its profits in just a few weeks since it released its pumpkin spice concha, a modern take on the traditional Mexican concha. 

“We never in a million years thought it was gonna blow up like it has,” Rangel said.

La Hacienda Bakery, located far northeast in a strip mall at 180 Uvalde Road near Channelview, went viral on TikTok in September when it shared its fall-themed pastry, the pumpkin spice concha. Since then, Houstonians have lined up outside the bakery to get their hands on the sweet bread filled with a pumpkin spice cream and coated with orange sugar to look like a pumpkin. After Rangel appeared on Good Morning America’s Halloween special, customers have traveled from Chicago, Michigan, Tennessee and beyond in search of the seasonal sweet.

La Hacienda has perfected its sweet bread recipe over the years so that it maintains its soft and fresh taste for up to four days. They bake the bread with fillings, including the caramel spread known as cajeta, pineapple, and strawberry cream.

“This year, we said, ‘Why not make something different than any other bakery?’” Rangel said.

The seemingly overnight success of the pumpkin spice concha was the culmination of more than two decades of dedication to baking Mexican treats. Rangel’s mom Leticia Avilés Mercado migrated to Houston from Valle Hermoso in the northern Mexican state Tamaulipas in 1997 when Rangel was 6. 

She then met Rangel’s stepfather, who was a baker in his native Puebla in central Mexico. He began teaching his wife some of his culinary secrets. Avilés Mercado started small, selling to friends and neighbors in Houston’s Fifth Ward, bringing along a young Rangel.

“She would make the bread, and we would sell it door to door, knocking. I didn’t speak any English, not even a word,” Rangel said. “It was just overwhelming. I was scared. I’d just cry all the time because I don’t speak the language.”

But Avilés Mercado always dreamt big. The family opened its own bakery 12 years ago. 

“I always wanted to have the chance to not work for somebody else,” Avilés Mercado said.

Rangel, now 35, helped her mom and stepdad navigate the business side of the bakery, especially when all the English-language paperwork was overwhelming to understand. She kept her day job as a deputy for Harris County Sheriff’s Office and spent her time off helping at the bakery. 

About a year ago, Rangel’s husband, who runs a marketing business, began preaching the power of marketing to Rangel and her mom. He encouraged the family to invest in marketing, by coming up with new creations and showcasing them on social media. But it was a constant fight, Rangel said.

“Hispanics don’t believe in marketing. They don’t invest,” Rangel said. “They think you’re wasting your money doing that. Why do we have to pay the internet so much, or pay someone to come and do a video or pictures?” 

Beyond his role in marketing, Rangel’s husband learned to bake and got involved in coming up with new creations for the bakery. He likes to experiment with new filling flavors to test out on customers. He piloted a sweet potato, pumpkin and pumpkin spice filling throughout September. Pumpkin spice was the clear winner, and so began the pumpkin spice concha. 

On Sept. 30, an 11-second video announcing the fall-flavored concha on TikTok got more than 130,000 views. Another video a week later of Rangel cutting into the concha to show the cream center now has more than 600,000 views. 

The treat became such a success that the family had to hire more staff and turn their bakery into a 24-hour operation to keep up with demand. They went from producing 50 conchas a day, then 500, and eventually 3,000. They always sold out.

The pumpkin spice concha has resonated with Houston residents who cherish the tradition of eating Mexican sweet bread with their families and love La Hacienda’s modern twist. 

Hector Padilla and his wife Naomi came to La Hacienda one recent Saturday to get a cake, but couldn’t resist buying some pumpkin spice treats as well. 

“When we were little kids, around this time, it’s coffee time, chocolate time,” said Padilla, a 45-year-old welder and lifelong Houstonian. “We would just buy conchas like crazy.”

Retired teacher Ana Maria Falcón, 77, came with her husband after reading about the bakery. She has lived in Houston since her family moved from Mexico when she was 6. She was excited about the fusion of the traditions of her two countries.

“We love Mexican pan dulce. We’re always eating it,” Falcon said. “I read that big old article about it. I’m so proud of my people.”

The bakery’s loyal customers mainly have Mexican heritage, mixing English and Spanish as they walk around the bakery before deciding on which pastry to buy. After La Hacienda’s internet success, the clientele has expanded and Houstonians of all backgrounds are eager to visit the bakery, Rangel said.

La Hacienda has finally ventured into e-commerce, and started shipping their pumpkin spice conchas in November to the nearly 2,000 people registered online. However, it’s no longer taking new registrations so they can keep up with demand. They hope to expand to open another location in Houston. 

The bakery is now working on two new Christmas-themed concha recipes, which they plan to launch in December. The business is finally successful enough that Rangel can leave her law enforcement job to focus solely on the bakery. 

Leaving her job is bittersweet, Rangel said, because she loves helping people. 

But to Rangel, baking bread is not just about satisfying a sweet tooth. It’s about taking pride in her Mexican heritage and uniting families.

“For us, it means you’re bringing family together in love. We definitely need more love in this world,” Rangel said. 

“This brings happiness to people and we love that feeling.”

The post A peek inside the oven: The story behind a Houston bakery’s TikTok-viral pumpkin spice concha  appeared first on Houston Landing.