The “pan chiquitos,” as Albaro De La Garza calls them, started out as miniature versions of sweet bread for his then-young children.

De La Garza’s kids often didn’t finish off a full-size empanada or a fluffy concha pastry. So, De La Garza and his baker at the time at the Mercedes panaderia made them smaller. The child-sized Mexican sweet bread of De La Garza Bakery and Cake Shop in Mercedes soon grew popular with the grown-ups. It was the early 2000s, not long after Albaro and his wife, Nora, started up their bakery on Texas Avenue in the Mid-Valley city.

The smaller versions of pan dulce, as it turned out, were perfect for delicious finger foods at office gatherings and parties as well as ideal snacks with an afternoon coffee. 

“It was something different for those times,” Albaro De La Garza said. “Other bakeries in the Valley copied us, but we have the pride in knowing we were the first to do them here.”

Making It Right

The couple had no background in commercial baking when they started up their business 24 years ago.

Albaro was a mechanic and Nora a nurse in their native Mexico. It’s the immigrant story of fulfilling a dream to own and operate their own business in the United States and to turn the unknown into a success.  

“The batter is something beautiful to work with,” Albaro said of meshing all of the ingredients together to make great pan dulce. “It’s an art.”

A typical workday at De La Garza Bakery starts at 3 a.m.

That’s when the De La Garzas and their bakers start out making their bread fresh. The company motto is prominently displayed above the bakery’s cash register and says, “Pan Dulce Fresco Diario.” It means “fresh bread daily.” There is no leftover bread sold the next day at De La Garza’s bakery beyond the ones clearly marked in smaller packages that are sold separately from the day’s fresh offerings behind sliding glass panels.

“Todo nuevo,’’ Nora De La Garza says of the new bread made daily at De La Garza’s. 

Getting Started

It all started out in the year 2000 at the north Texas Avenue location where the De La Garzas still do business today in Mercedes. Having a bakery is an idea that intrigued them even if they had no background in operating such a business. They hired an old school baker who over the next few years taught them everything he knew.

The couple have become proficient bakers in their own right after many years of practice. They strive to be efficient bakers, making only batches of the varieties of pan dulce the De La Garzas believe will sell that day. Albaro points out that all sweet bread has essentially the same ingredients. What differentiates one bakery from another is how much of each ingredient is in the bread. If corners are cut, a customer will immediately taste it in a region like the Valley where people have been eating Mexican sweet bread their whole lives. 

“The quantities affect the taste,” Albaro said. “Too much flour and the bread is too thick. Some bakeries use water instead of milk and cut down on eggs. Everything has to be on point. That’s what makes good bread.”

Customer Connection

Beyond the product there’s the interchange with customers. 

Nora De La Garza speaks of the rapport her business enjoys with Mid-Valley communities. They came to Mercedes as newcomers nearly 25 years ago and she says the bakery’s customers have taught the De La Garzas about the history of the communities. The couple lives in Weslaco and does business in Mercedes. Albaro describes how they’ve blended in and become part of their communities.

“We have learned how to take care and save when times are good so we have resources when things slow down,” he said. “We’ve won and had some losses, but we are still here.”

There is one true test they say the De La Garza bakery has passed.

“People say our bread has “el sabor de Mexico,’” Nora said with a prideful smile. It is the taste of Mexico at De La Garza Bakery in Mercedes.