Mi Casa Bakery recently opened its doors in downtown Marshalltown at 23 W. Main St. in a building that at one time had also been a Mexican bakery, offering the ideal circumstances for new owners looking to set up shop.

Enrique Acosta-Perez, Josefina Alejandre and their son, Alejandro Acosta, all co-own the establishment. Josefina makes the cakes, while Enrique bakes the bread. Two staff members assist in baking and serving clients but the owners are still seeking experienced cake decorators to help on orders.

Upon entering Mi Casa, customers will see a selection of baked goods that are authentic Mexican in style. Their inventory consists of pastries and Mexican breads. The breads include Trigo (wheat), concha (sweet and looks like a sea shell), bolillo (type of roll) and quesadilla (cheese bread).

Cake flavors such as chocolate, vanilla and pia colada are sold, as well as flan and cheesecakes. Tres Leche Cake (three milks) is highest in demand.

The shop is equipped to provide sweet treats for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and any other important life occasions. Special flavors can be created upon request. As for adorning the cakes, customers are welcome to bring in a picture or drawing of what kind of design they are seeking.

Their bakery started out of their home in Des Moines 10 years ago and expanded from there. Josefina decided to branch out from her duties as a stay at home mom and got interested in baking cakes, first for friends and family.

“Word of mouth spread, shortly you had people wanting to order cakes and bread from us. It grew so fast, she no longer could keep doing it as a hobby. We turned our home into a business, thus the name Mi Casa Bakery (My Bakery House),” Alejandro explained.

Their food gained a following in the Spanish-speaking community in Des Moines and the decision was made to open up a shop in Marshalltown. But first, Josefina and Enrique took trips around the country and Mexico for training in business management and home cooking styles.

“We found that having traditional taste and keeping our cakes as close to what the (Spanish-speaking) community is use to from Mexico makes usstand out. This however comes with many challenges but Marshalltown has welcomed us. [My parents] are originally from Michoacn Mexico and Marshalltown has a lot of Hispanics from that state,” Alejandro added.

Sue Winter has been a loyal supporter of the family’s bakery.

“I’ve been to many parties where Josefina’s cakes have been supplied in a variety of flavors. [She bakes] an excellent cake,” Winter said.

Mi Casa’s new business hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. The phone number is 641-328-1695.

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Contact Sara Jordan at

641-753-6611 or sjordan@timesrepublican.com