CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Walk through the doors of Delicias Cakes in Caldwell, and you’ll find shelves filled with conchas, tres leches cakes, empanadas, cinnamon rolls and other traditional Mexican sweets.
For owner José Ramírez, better known by his customers as “Don Paco”, the panadería is about more than just bread and pastries; it’s about bringing people a taste of home.
Ramírez says his love for baking started when he was just eight years old in Mexico.
“I started working in Mexico when I was eight years old. I remember my dad would take me with him and put me on a little stool so I could reach the table.”
Those early experiences eventually brought Ramírez to Los Angeles and later to Idaho, where he and his family have been serving the community for more than 17 years.
For Ramírez, one ingredient has remained especially important throughout his years as a baker: love.
“If bread is made with love, obviously it’s going to taste like love, and that love is going to be passed on to the customers.”
That philosophy is reflected in the panadería’s menu, which includes classic conchas, tres leches, mocha tres leches, Mexican cakes, empanadas and cinnamon rolls, along with other Latin American sweets and pan dulce.
Ramírez says customers from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and other parts of Latin America visit Delicias Cakes looking for familiar flavors that remind them of home.
But sometimes, they’re looking for more than food.
Ramírez says he has built relationships with customers over the years and often knows them by name.
“Every time a customer walks through that door, I greet them by their first name, or sometimes by their last name."
He says those conversations are part of what makes running a panadería so meaningful.
“Sometimes you’re not just a baker. You’re also a psychologist, because people come in and tell us their problems. It’s really special to be the ear to someone who may not have anyone else out there to listen to them.”
For Ramírez, Delicias Cakes is a place where traditional flavors, family and community come together — one loaf of bread and one conversation at a time.
Delicias Cakes is open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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