The long lines Houstonians have stood in to taste Ema’s baked goods have followed the pop-up over to its newest venture: a brick-and-mortar location in the Heights. Since 2019, the concept formerly called Tláhuac has gained popularity by selling at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market and other spots around town. Ema had its last Saturday at the market in February, and the new cafe opened for business on March 29, ready to continue feeding the city of Houston.

Founded by 2024 James Beard semifinalist Stephanie Velasquez, Nicolas Vera, and Marlén Mendoza, Ema’s initial goal was to change the narrative on Mexican pastries. Velasquez says the group worked to educate people who attended the market about what a concha is, along with its other offerings, and now the new location will continue this effort within the broader community.

The Heights restaurant serves dishes made from maiz, the pan dulce that made Ema famous in the first place, and coffee. For now, since the trio are in a new neighborhood, they want to have items that people can recognize, but down the line, seasonal specials and new items could make their way to the menu.

“We’re trying to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood,” Velasquez says. “We hope once we gain their trust with what we create, they’ll be open to trying different things.”

Expect an array of pastry options crafted by Velasquez, such as a canela coffee panque, a guava queso empanada, the Insta-famous horchata berlinesa, and conchas in flavors like matcha, almond, and chocolate. Velasquez says her style is different than the usual conchas found at bakeries. She puts a French twist on the pastries, which can be enjoyed on their own instead of having to dip them in a coffee. To achieve this, Velasquez uses a dough similar to a brioche, which has richness from the egg, along with French butter, and citrus to elevate the pastry’s flavors. She also uses French techniques to create a rough puff pastry dough to make her empanadas flaky and flavorful.

“I love that with French pastry, it’s kind of like a blank canvas,” Velasquez says. “If you can make a really great dough with quality ingredients, you can be playful and creative with adding flavors to it.”

Ema’s brick-and-mortar has also allowed the team to expand its savory menu options. The taco de Zanahoria features confit carrot, pumpkin seed salsa, greens, made-in-house queso fresco, and roasted pumpkin seeds on an heirloom blue corn tortilla. Or you can opt for a torta Milanesa, a sandwich of cemita bread made in-house, breaded chicken, black beans, green tomato, red onions, morita mayo, and cabbage. Ema also has a full coffee program with items such as piloncillo chai and lattes in flavors like cafe de olla, horchata, and agave.

So far, Velasquez says the amount of support the community has shown Ema has exceeded their expectations. “It’s been a blessing to have people come in and really enjoy the food, pastries, and coffee,” Velasquez says.

However, the road has not been all smooth sailing. When Vera and Velasquez first met, they never thought they would be where they are today—and Velasquez says the fact she was a James Beard semifinalist for the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category this year came as a surprise and blessing all in one.

Early beginnings

Velasquez has loved baking since she was a kid. She even moved to Colorado to pursue culinary arts but had to drop out and move back home to Houston after some financial troubles. Instead of letting that stop her from achieving her dreams, Velasquez decided to dive headfirst into the industry in hopes of building her pastry dreams, beginning at Sinfull Bakery, a vegan bakery in Midtown, then working at now closed the Pass & Provisions and Weights + Measures.

Velasquez eventually began working on the pastry team at Xochi, one of acclaimed chef Hugo Ortega’s Mexican restaurants, where she met Vera. In 2019, they both left their jobs to work on their own concept: Tláhuac (pronounced “kla-wok”), which became a three-month residency at Greenway Plaza thanks to NextSeed Space.

In 2020, Vera opened his own concept in Finn Hall—Papalo Taqueria, which is still there today. When the pandemic hit and everything shut down, the couple needed a way to continue making money. Their landlord allowed them to stay at the location and use the facilities so they could have access to a restaurant-grade kitchen. With the need to survive, they went back to what they knew: pop-ups.

The couple turned a van into a mobile bakery dubbed “Panadería Mobile” and sold pastries around town, eventually landing their products in Old Sixth Ward mini-grocery Henderson & Kane. Through that partnership, Velasquez and Vera met Mendoza, who has an extensive background in specialty coffee and at the time was selling her Amanecer products to the store, gaining popularity for favorites like her horchata cold brew.

The trio’s partnership officially came to fruition with its first pop-up in November 2020, and their first market at Urban Harvest followed not long after. They officially rebranded to Ema in April 2022.

The new Heights restaurant is a culmination of their work and life experiences. The concept for the design first came to mind six years ago, after a trip Vera and Velasquez took to Mexico City: a restaurant there named Lalo is the true inspiration behind Ema.

They signed the lease in September 2022 with a bare-bones budget, and from there, it was all-hands-on-deck to get the space ready. They took the location’s blank slate and, with the help of their families, filled it with details to bring their dream to life.

Contrary to popular belief, the spaces in Mexico are much more industrial than the bright colors people usually associate with the country. Ema is very airy, green, and applies the concrete architecture that is seen in Mexico. Velasquez’s dad helped with building the tables, bar, countertop, and tile throughout the restaurant. As for the wall decor, all the art comes from the co-owners’ travels to cities throughout Mexico. Vera sees Ema as a “biblioteca,” or library of sorts.

“I want this place to be a biblioteca—a place with folklore, culture, history,” Vera says. “We want that—to inspire not only Latinos that were born here, but also the other communities and cultures.”