San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Bakery, flower shop a sweet addition to Chula Vista
A pastry shop at 216 Third Avenue in Chula Vista is getting a fresh start while still honoring its sweet beginnings. Formerly known as Chico Bakery, the store has been remodeled and reinvented as Dulcet Bakery and has welcomed a sister store next door, Tallo Floral Artistry.
The light pink bakery is owned by Ivana Fernandez, who creates a wide variety of sweet and savory creations, from croissants and muffins to custom cakes decorated with elaborate designs. Aside from learning her skills at the Institute of Culinary Education in Pasadena, Fernandez attributes her talents in baking to her mother, who owned Chico Bakery before retiring and passing it down to her daughter.
“It’s a small shop ... not many people know about it,” Fernandez said. “It’s so exciting when people come back and say ‘it’s so good’ and make the trip even if it’s out of the way.”
The bakery celebrated its rebranding in July along with a grand opening for Tallo, the new flower shop co-owned by Fernandez and her best friend, Isabella Tejeda. With its name meaning “stem” in Spanish, the Latinaowned store specializes in selling flowers by the stem. The color palette and variety of blooms change each day.
Tejeda, who learned floral artistry from her grandmother and through floral design courses in Mexico, says no bouquet will ever look the same, as customers have the creative freedom to choose the flowers they want in their arrangement.
Bouquets start at $25 and unique blooms can be ordered in advance. Tejeda says she tries to steer away from carrying commercial picks, offering unique species of flowers like lisianthus and ranunculus instead.
The store also offers a dried floral bar, stationary and other accessories.
Call Dulcet at (619) 691-6386 or follow it on Instagram at @dulcet.sd.
Call Tallo at (619)554-2791or find it on Instagram at @tallofloral.