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Made in S.A.: Helotes business owners team up for Cafe and Bakery

Nothing goes better than coffee and pastries. That idea also brings together two business owners under one roof.

SAN ANTONIO — Customers pile into Helotes Café and Bakery for Jersey-style baked goods and Texas roasted coffee.

New Jersey native Jennifer Howard greets each person with a hello and a suggestion.

"My love of baking came from my grandmother, my mother and my aunts. Food was always just a big part of our lives, so baking, it happened every day," Howard said. She's a co-owner of Helotes Café & Bakery. But this isn't her first gig.

Howard walked away from a 14-year teaching career, thanks to the suggestion of her neighbor, Phillip Santillanes.

"He lives across the street from me… We were just talking and I had always brought desserts to his family,” Howard said. "He said, 'you should start your own business.' I said, 'that's silly, I'm a teacher; there is no time.'"

Santillanes understood her worries. A year earlier, he left a two-decade long career in the medical field to start roasting and selling coffee, now known as Texas Grounds Coffee.

"I've always had a love, a passion for helping people develop and grow. And the way I did that was connecting with them, and I connected with them by sharing a cup of coffee with them," said Santillanes, the cafe's other co-owner .

His three blends are crafted to perfection each day in house.

"That's the advantage of being a small batch roaster, we are able to craft these beans and shape them into what they were meant to be,” Santillanes said.

Howard and Santillanes mixed their talents to brew up this brick and mortar—Helotes Café and Bakery.

"It really is a dream come true for both of us," Howard said.

"Much the same way that I connected with people over coffee, Jenn connected with people over her baked goods. Just by bringing her treats across the street, and opening up a conversation, and saying 'let's do what we want to do,'” Santillanes said. "We'll never have to say we never tried."

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