Bakery News
Dallas pastry chef to open patisserie and cafe in '50s shopping center
A bakery is opening in an east-East Dallas shopping center that's dying for something of its kind. Called Lubella's Patisserie, it's a new shop at 10323 Ferguson Rd. from veteran pastry chef Maria Becerra, and it's opening at Casa View Center, a newly renovated '50s shopping center at the intersection of Gus Thomasson Road.
Becerra has done pastry for fine-dining restaurants such as Bullion and Flora St. Cafe. She's opening this with her husband Ismael Trejo Gonzalez, a food & beverage veteran in his own right.
"We've been in the restaurant industry for years, but this is our first shop," Becerra says. "A couple of years ago, we moved to Casa View so our kids could go to school there, and we'd drive by the center. We saw they were updating it, and decided to see if they had space available. They had another proposal, but they gave the space to us because they liked what we had planned."
The makeover of Casa View Shopping Center was initiated in 2018 and included the restoration of storefront canopies, lighting and signage upgrades, a reworking of the central plaza, and planting new trees.
Lubella's, which is named for her two daughters, Luciana and Isabella, will be a bakery with a cafe component, and will be facing Ferguson Road, a few doors down from the Pet Supplies Plus.
"When COVID-19 closed things down, I was going crazy at home and began doing cakes, including customized wedding cakes," she says. "It started to do well. We'd been thinking about doing our own bakery and we thought maybe it was time."
"We'll start with desserts including cake by the slice, and then slowly expand the menu," she says. "I'd like to offer breakfast items like quiche, frittata, avocado toast, then maybe add lunch, depending on what the neighborhood wants."
The space is still under construction, with a goal of opening in mid- to late-fall, in time for the holidays.
She'll also do pan dulce and tres leches cakes, which are featured on the menu at Jose Restaurant on Lovers Lane. But Casa View has plenty of Mexican bakeries, and she wants to do more.
"I can make croissants, Danish, and I want Lubella's to have a variety," she says. "I make everything from scratch, and I want it to be fresh."
