La Casa Bakery & Cafe is a family-owned restaurant in Houston, Texas. It boasts handmade foods from chips to conchas. It is owned by Trinidad Garza, who has been baking for over fifty years. He immigrated to the United States when he was younger, and opened La Casa a few years ago. However, the restaurant was experiencing slow business following Hurricane Harvey, and the owner, Trinidad Garza, was considering closing it.
That’s where his daughter Jackie, a high school senior, comes in. In December, she tweeted, “My dad has a little panaderia. He’s been thinking about closing but I can’t let that happen. Spread the word!”
https://twitter.com/basicjackz/status/938490808860364801
The tweet went viral, racking up over 60 thousand retweets. Following this tweet, Jackie added pictures of dishes that La Casa has to offer. She was also prompted to start up a website, Instagram and Twitter.
https://twitter.com/basicjackz/status/938494284013195269
https://twitter.com/basicjackz/status/938496283949584384
Many people traveled to pay the bakery a visit, including soccer player A.J. DeLaGarza and a couple who had traveled almost an hour away.
We made it. pic.twitter.com/7wCaQFz3cj
— AJ DeLaGarza (@AJD_20) January 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/BigJoeGarland/status/939169319715516416
https://twitter.com/mxguie/status/938819469346033665
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcnBCNAho0D/?taken-by=basicjackz
“I literally broke down in tears,” Jackie said upon meeting the couple. “So many people have come up to me and talked about everything that’s been going on and I’m still shocked at the fact that Twitter did this.”
After seeing the outpouring of support for La Casa firsthand, Mr. Garza was amazed. “I didn’t know anything about Twitter,” he said. “I’m very surprised.”
The bakery stocked up again, after running clean out of pan dulce.
https://twitter.com/basicjackz/status/938897040825880577
“I know all the hard work my parents put into this,” Jackie told ABC 13. “They work from early in the morning until late at night, even though we close at 5 p.m. The quality of the food and the authenticity of it is amazing.”
Jackie’s story and La Casa’s story are proof that small, family-owned businesses are more than deserving of support. When the hard work being done by a business such as La Casa is clear in their food and environment, this work must be treasured and celebrated by the community.
https://twitter.com/CasaBakery/status/940379873142591488
