A Dallas bakery that first opened nine years ago to specialize in Guatemalan, Mexican, and Salvadorian breads is adding another North Texas location. “We started introducing food, so now we have a bakery/cafe at our first location,” said Leslie’s Bakery & Antojitos co-owner Herlinda Gelista.
Gelista told What Now Dallas she and her husband and co-owner, Luis Villanueva, wanted to offer a larger space to serve customers, so they decided to open a second location. They have already completed demolition at 1815 N. Galloway, Ste. B in Mesquite, and they are in the process of dividing the kitchen and completing the front lobby. Gelista said they hope to open in early April. “I’m just very excited right now, and I’m antsy because it’s taken a little longer than expected to do all the process,” Gelista said.
Customers can order a variety of Guatemalan and Mexican breads, pastries, cookies, and cakes for special occasions such as birthdays and weddings. “Our most popular type of cake is Tres Leches cake, but we also offer vanilla and chocolate,” Gelista said.
“We try to incorporate everything that will pull different customers in,” she said. Leslie’s offers other Mexican-style and Guatemalan-style food. “From El Salvador, we do the pupusas, which are most popular. Everybody likes the pupusas.” A pupusa is made of corn dough, like a tortilla, but it can be stuffed with meat and cheese, beans and cheese, and spinach and cheese.
“Our tamales are Guatemalan tamales. They are a little bit different from Mexican tamales. They’re bigger and they’re wrapped in banana leaves. Our tamales are well-liked by all of our Central American customers,” she said.
Gelista said Leslie’s is named after one of their four children, who was an only child when they opened the first location, before siblings Elissa, Isaih, and Caleb came along. The original location at 2915 Community Dr., Ste. 102 will continue to serve customers in Dallas.
