HOUSTON — While some families are busy weatherizing their homes, others are turning to comfort food to face the cold weather — specifically with sweet bread. The demand was so high that one Houston area bakery completely sold out.
As the temperature drops, for many families, it means one thing.
“Once I saw it was 30 degrees I am going to make a run for pan dulce,” said Tania Torres.
Houstonians went out Monday to their nearest panaderia, or bakery, to stock up on their favorites.
“We really like conchas and cochinitas,” said Torres.
“The weather makes you want to watch movie and drink some chocolate,” said Francisco Lopez.
Sunday night was no exception at El Bolillo Bakery. Workers described a nonstop flow of customers, with a revolving door of people stocking up on sweet bread.
“When they feel cold it’s going to be raining, they start coming and by 6 p.m. this is crazy busy,” said Laura Bravo, assistant Manager at El Bolillo Bakery.
Employees said the parking lot was packed with no spots available. Inside, bakers tried to keep up with the overwhelming demand. They couldn’t even get the bread onto the shelves before it was gone.
“We were bringing bread we didn’t have time to put them out in the counters before people were grabbing them. But we made it,” said Bravo.
At several locations, the shelves were empty. Pictures shared on social media showed how customers whipped them clean as they stocked up on sweet bread ahead of the freezing temperatures.
“You grab as much as you can for everyone watch movies because you can go outside,” said Lopez.
El Bolillo said they had staff working 24 hours to restock, and by opening time Monday, all the shelves were filled again.
“I am glad that I came here today because these are essentials,” said Torres.