Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Contreras.
Hi Julie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My business started during the pandemic! It was my best friend’s, since the 7th grades birthday and I wanted to make her something special. So I made her my first batch of sourdough conchas. She loved them! I love that she is the first person that I made my conchas for because my business really started from all the love I have for her! From there I started sharing my conchas with other family and friends and everyone else who tried them loved them as well!
I started going to small farmers markets and pop ups to sell my sourdough conchas. Then I began experimenting more with other sourdough breads as I grew. Eventually, we started selling at local farmer’s markets, including the Pearl and Alamo Heights, where we have been for around 3 years now, and our menu expanded to what it is now. We have been baking from our bakery location for over a year, but recently opened up to the public where we now serve a variety of pastries and drinks in addition to all of our breads.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It was definitely anything but smooth! I started baking in my home kitchen, and it pretty much took over the whole house. When we first started selling at markets we had no prior experience with that, so it was a big learning curve. When we eventually started working out of the bakery, that was a big transition as well! Learning how to operate much bigger equipment and working at a much bigger scale than before.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The main thing that sets us apart from other bakeries is that everything we serve is sourdough, made with only organic ingredients, and dairy free! Our organic theme also includes all of our drinks, espresso beans (sourced from What’s Brewing), matcha (sourced from Mira Matcha), and the milk that we use! We also make all of syrups in house as well. My favorite drink that we have is definitely our matcha lemonade! You can find us at 1031 Patricia Drive, STE 104, San Antonio, TX 78213. We are currently
open Thursday- Sunday, 7:30am-3pm.
The thing I’m most proud of is working with my little brother Andres. He has learned so much over the years he has helped me with the bakery! Starting out as a baker and advancing to manager whenever I have to be away. He is so responsible and gets so much done, considering he is a full time college student at UTSA, studying Communications, and is apart of Fiji, which is a fraternity on campus. In addition to baking with me and being bakery manager, you can also find him selling for the bakery at the Alamo Heights Farmers Market every Sunday, 10am-2pm! Andres, also brought in his best friend, Watson, very early on in the start of bakery! Watson has worked with us for about 3 years now, also while being a full time student at Trinity University, studying Engineering and is apart of the Ultimate Frisbee team there! In addition to baking you can also find him selling for the bakery at the Pearl Farmers Market every Saturday, 9am-1pm and Sunday, 10am-2pm! They both have really been there for me through thick and thin and I couldn’t have done it without them!
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I would attribute my success to my grit and determination, as well as the help of my family, friends and my team as a whole. It really does take a village and I am so very grateful to mine!
Pricing:
- $10 for big breads
- $5 for pastries
- $7 for focaccia
Contact Info:
- Website: https://conchastyle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loafsourdoughpanaderia/?igsh=MWU4c3NzeWU5aXoybQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr#
Image Credits
Jake Fontenot @fontenonsense on IG
