JUNE BUSINESS OF THE MONTH SPOTLIGHT - ONO SWEETS

Connect Del Rio President, Willard Jenkins, presents Ono Sweets with the June Business of the Month Award on Saturday, June 15, 2024.

This month of June, Connect Del Rio had the honor of presenting local small bakery, Ono Sweets with our Business of the Month Award. 

Voted our winner by friends and customers on Connect Del Rio’s Facebook and Instagram pages, the owner Karla shared that she started this business 10 years ago but only recently began growing and expanding it. “I started this business when my husband was enlisted in the army so I would start it up and then quit, so this is actually the first time I’ve run my business for almost a year straight,” she shared with us.

The name itself came from her time stationed in Hawaii where “Ono” means delicious. After hearing the word so many times among locals, Karla asked what it meant and named her business “Ono Sweets,” meaning “delicious sweets.” 

Ono Sweets specializes in an assortment of baked goods ranging from macarons and cinnamon rolls to custom cakes, with 90% of her products being made from scratch. “I don’t like using cake mixes and I don’t use fondant on my cakes, I prefer to work with buttercream so I take a break from custom orders May to August due to the heat because my cakes will melt.”

Ono Sweets booth set up for sale in front of JC Penney at the Plaza del Sol Mall.

While she admits she could be better at using her Instagram account, you can find her on the platform as well as on Facebook under “Ono Sweets.” 

She also shared that she donates her leftover baked goods at the end of her selling days to businesses in and around the mall to ensure that everyone gets to try her baked goods and nothing goes to waste. 

When asked how she feels about being selected as our business of the month, Karla told us it couldn’t have come at a better time. “I didn’t want to grow my business at first but now I think I’m ready.” 

To taste her delicious treats, stop by the Plaza del Sol Mall in front of JC Penney’s entrance Friday-Sunday from 12-5:30pm or until sold out. You can also catch her at the Kress Building from time to time during The Pop Up DRTX markets.

This Journalist can be reached at alondra.sanchez@connectdelrio.com