There's still time to score Houston's viral pumpkin spice-filled conchas

La Hacienda Bakery is making its rounds – literally.

The Houston bakery, located in a shopping center at 180 Uvalde Road in the Timberwood area, first became known on TikTok in October for its seasonal concha rellenas, or stuffed conchas, which are loaded with a pumpkin spice filling and shaped only in orange and colored like a pumpkin. Although it is the first time that La Hacienda has sold this type of Mexican sweet bread, or pan dulce, it was an instant success. The conchas have received more than a million views on social media, and the bakery has been selling out almost daily, selling thousands of their cozy pumpkin conchas daily. Some guests drove up to 16 hours – and promised to fly in – just to score one.

They've become so popular that even ABC13 Houston had to do a taste, and on Thursday, October 31, owner Leslie Rangel delivered the pumpkin spice conchas to New York, where they were featured on a national newscast Good morning America (Co-host and Houston native Michael Strahan seemed smitten).

“We wanted to create something unique and different from any other bakery. We came up with this filling and those who don’t like pumpkin will love it,” Rangel said Good morning America Host. “They’re perfectly balanced, creamy, not too pumpkiny.”

The pastry is so popular that there is now a waiting list, and Rangel says La Hacienda is working around the clock to get their conchas and other pan dulces packaged and shipped. The support was incredible – “I never thought we would be here,” Rangel says – but the pressure was also high. Rangel said on social media that the bakery has received countless messages and calls with questions about the conchas and the store's shipping process, which has been delayed.

“We never imagined it would get this big in just a few days,” Rangel says tearfully in a video posted to Instagram, apologizing for delays and thanking guests for their support. “I want you to be in my shoes. Imagine you are a small business and within a few days you explode. You can’t believe it.”

Rangel runs the business alongside her mother, who originally opened the bakery. She says she has to think about hiring more bakers and staff to meet demand. She asked for patience, but she assured people that La Hacienda Bakery employees are working around the clock to fill orders and keep the bakery supplied with more conchas so they don't sell out so quickly.

The bakery gave people a behind-the-scenes look at much of the process and experience on social media, with shots of employees stuffing the sweet bread with fillings, putting it in the oven and dusting it with powdered sugar as lively crowds gathered fuller Excitement to try them out. Rangel says she has also extended the time the pumpkin spice conchas are offered. Instead of ending on October 31st, they will be offered until November, and people who signed up for the waiting list before October 31st will be able to secure their first conchas in the future.

The Houston pumpkin spice concha trend is part of a larger trend across the country in which Latinx bakeries are reviving the traditional concha by experimenting and incorporating new flavors and shapes. Ema, which opened in the Heights area earlier this year, has made waves with its Mexican pastries, including its soft conchas, available in flavors like blue corn and cinnamon sugar, and elote cornbread. El Bolillo has long offered a line of pan dulce, including its own pumpkin-shaped and colored conchas (though without filling), and Urbe has released a colorful variety of conchas, some decorated with crossbones or skulls, to boot To celebrate Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead.