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Juan Carlos Soto has been selling pan dulce, empanadas and other baked goods for over 25 years, but last year Zeledon’s Bakery on Wheels went viral on TikTok and things have never been the same, in the sweetest way possible, that is.
“Since we went viral, our sales have gone crazy,” he said. “We’re getting phone calls from China, Mexico, whatever.”
Zeledón’s Bakery on Wheels is a partnership between Soto and his nephew, Ernesto Botello. His bakery has grown in the San José area. Now, they plan to put down roots in a permanent location.
These days, finding the pan dulce van is no different than a scavenger hunt. Some customers simply follow Zeledón’s Instagram stories, where Botello posts the intersections and parking lots where they plan to park. Others soar to the bugle blast of “La Cucaracha”: Soto and Botello blast the song through the van’s speakers, much like an ice cream truck or grocery cart would. They usually don’t stay in any one place for more than an hour, so it can be a rush to get your fix.
“I always try to get to all the places where it’s hot and eventually that fire goes out,” Botello told The Standard. “So I’m always on the go.”
This feeling of sweet spontaneity inspired a series of TikToks where customers race their way to the bakery on wheels. In other videos, customers choose their favorite food from the back of the truck, which is stacked with Mexican sweet breads, corn, tamales, empanadas, donuts and muffins.
After some of these TikToks went viral last summer, Soto and Botello received calls from The Today Show, NBC Bay Area and Telemundo Bay Area, making three TV appearances in a month-long period.
Now Soto and Botello plan to open a forever home, not in San José, but in Los Baños, a town in the San Joaquin Valley southwest of Merced. Once that traditional bakery opens, Soto plans to focus on that business and leave the nomadic bakery to his nephew, who will hopefully add more traveling trucks to the fleet.
Although Soto has yet to set an exact date or location, he said he hopes to reach as many customers as possible throughout California.
“People love it, and we love to see them smile,” he said.
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Source: news.google.com