Crystal Smith’s love of cooking and food inspired her to open a bakery that showcased her Texas roots.
Selling kolaches out of a small food truck at local events and taking online orders, Smith brought one of her favorite treats from her hometown of Houston, Texas to the Central Valley. Kolaches are pastries that were originally brought to Texas by Czech immigrants. The yeasty buns can be filled with sweet or savory fillings.
Locals can sample a variety of flavors at Smith’s new shop in downtown Visalia. On Thursday, Stuffed Buns celebrated the grand opening of its brick and mortar location with a ribbon cutting.
The event symbolized hard work and dreams come true, according to Smith.
“I honestly don’t know if there are enough words to express how grateful l am for all of the support, encouragement, and love you’ve shown me throughout this journey,” she said.
Located next door to The Fox Theatre on Main Street the eatery is easy to find and impossible to resist. Stuffed Buns menu is designed to entice customers to try sweet and savory buns, dirty sodas, iced tea and iced coffee.
“After months of dreaming, planning, learning, and overcoming obstacle after obstacle, I’m excited and a little terrified,” Smith said. “Opening a small business is one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, but your support has carried me every step of the way. My hope is that I can make you all proud, serve this community well, and be here for many years to come.”
Out of numerous applicants, Stuffed Buns was selected by The Fox Theatre to rent the shop next door to the iconic theatre. The location used to house Quesadilla Gorilla.
“We had a lot of applicants interested in renting that special space. After talking with Crystal, hearing her vision and seeing her obvious passion for her specialty kolache-making business, it was obvious Stuffed Buns was a perfect fit. We were excited to choose her as our new tenant,” said Merritt Wiseman, Visalia Fox board president. “Crystal brought both savory and sweet samples to her interview for us to try, and they were next level. The Visalia Fox is honored to be part of bringing a woman-owned small business, and a brand new food option, to downtown Visalia.”
What to Know
For the complete kolache menu and drink options, check out thestuffedbuns on Instagram.
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This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Texas style kolaches arrive at new Visalia bakery
Reporting by Meade Trueworthy, Special to Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Meade Trueworthy, Special to Visalia Times-Delta | USA TODAY Network
