Pastelitos Co. is a local, student-run business founded by Diana Reyna, a Texas A&M University student from Houston, whose staff and owner identify as Latinx. Pastelitos started out as a small effort of making and selling cheesecake to raise money for Reyna to fund her college degree. Since July 2019, her effort quickly gained popularity across campus and became a trending topic on Twitter.
Reyna founded Pastelitos Co. by baking cheesecakes out of her home, and just a couple months after, she was approached by Angelique Gammon, a journalism professor at Texas A&M, who offered help after having experience with building up a business herself.
“Out of nowhere she rescued me out of a pit of despair,” says Reyna. “I didn’t know how to do taxes, and she was like, ‘Let me show you,’ and I was just so grateful.”
As quickly as Pastelitos grew, so did the need for space. Reyna moved her work to a local bakery and culinary studio Renegade, formerly known as Taylor Made Gluten Free Bakery. Denise Fries, who previously owned Taylor Made, also offered to help her with financial planning and other ideas for her business.
After three and half months, Reyna welcomed Maurscio Vargas, Danny Rodriguez, and Yazbel Rodriguez to the team. They clicked fast, so the atmosphere is now always loud and fun, says Reyna.
“I don’t think I would be as fulfilled [working somewhere else],” says Vargas. “This is closely related to a Texas A&M community, we have recurring customers, and we have that interaction.”
Although anyone can come to Bryan College Station and visit its well-known restaurants and events, Pastelitos takes pride in being known as “College Station’s Best Kept Secret.”
“Even though there is a solid community built around the company, there are still people that say, ‘Oh I never heard of it,’ but when you show them, they are like, ‘Oh wow,’” says Vargas. “It’s like a hidden gem.”
Reyna’s goals for Pastelitos is to make everybody smile. With what Pastelitos has done for her, she wants to give that back and just make someone’s day, she says.
“I agree, especially when someone comes in and it’s their first time, they look so excited and you get to be a part of that experience, of this craze that we have going on, and it is just awesome,” says Yazbel Rodriguez.
There are a variety of flavors to choose from — vanilla, strawberry, carjeta, cocoa caramel, Oreo, coffee, lime, white chocolate raspberry, raspberry, and pumpkin pie (seasonally) — and they all come with a specialty design.
“Specifically, we have been sticking to one design; it looks like a flower,” says Vargas. “It’s been old faithful. Most of the flavors associated with that floral design are very fruity and rich.”
Vargas then describes the cocoa caramel as kind of a “hippie” and looking very eccentric.
“The white chocolate raspberry has the same design pattern as cocoa caramel,” says Vargas. “Their dark, rich flavors and deep colors, in addition to the cheesecake, just gives it this [definitive] feel, which is what I think we are all about.”
The cheesecake is made to look amazing and then when you take a bite, it tastes amazing, says Reyna.
“You eat food with your eyes first,” says Reyna. “That is what Pastelitos hopes to accomplish with every single one of our cheesecake designs.”
With an average workday of seven to 10 hours, the team is always looking for new ways to become more efficient in the things they do, to cut down on their time as much as possible. This became important when they introduced the “minis,” says Rodriguez.
“A lot of people were super excited, but we are just trying to find a simpler way to do them,” says Reyna explaining this newer addition to their business.
The team has learned so much in the short time they have been building Pastelitos, from social media engagement to time efficiency, they say. Although this has been the members’ first real job, they are building success quickly.
Pastelitos has had people come from Mexico City, Colombia, San Francisco, Amarillo, and Huntsville to buy their cheesecakes. Reyna is looking to expand to the major cities in Texas, to reach even more people, but for now, she is looking to make the local bakery a walk-in service, she says.
To buy a cheesecake from Pastelitos Co., visit @PastelitosCo on Twitter, where order forms go live Tuesday and Thursday nights. They take about 100 orders each day and a couple of up-for-grabs for those who did not submit the form in time.
They are now taking orders over the phone as well. Call or text Reyna at (713) 817-5336 with your desired flavor.
